Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, has said that if he is elected to office in 2027, his administration will restore fuel subsidy.
The former governor of Anambra State made this statement on Tuesday while speaking in an interview with the BBC.
During his swearing-in on May 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu had declared the removal of the fuel subsidy.
The Presidency has continued to insist that removing the subsidy was in the best interest of the nation, even though top opposition figures such as Obi and former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar have called for a different approach.
In his remarks on the subsidy regime, the former Anambra Governor said, “From day one, I’ve talked about subsidy. I talked about corruption; corruption is the problem of subsidy.”
When questioned about whether he would reinstate the subsidy system, he confirmed he would, yet he stressed that he would combat the alleged corruption tied to it.
“Yes. But remember, I have qualified it, not with the corruption that’s associated with it. I’ll remove the corruption and retain the subsidy.”
When questioned about his approach to fighting corruption, the NDC presidential candidate remarked, “If you are not stealing, if you are not involved, your wife and family are not involved, you reduce it by 50 percent.”
He further said that instead of stepping down for any candidate should the opposition parties unite and choose a consensus candidate, Obi stated, “We don’t need to step down. We need to do the right thing.”
The interviewer pointed out that the late President Muhammadu Buhari likewise took a stance against corruption, as he tried to prevent his family from getting entangled in government-related affairs.
“Nigerians should not decide with that,” Obi stated, adding, “He was not in charge. The difference is that I’ll be in charge,” he stated, on the heels of allegations that some government officials who served under the Buhari administration are still under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
