Senator Adams Oshiomhole, former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s campaign pledge to reinstate the fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027, arguing the promise contradicts Atiku’s own past position on the issue.
Advertisements
Oshiomhole said that during his time as vice president, Atiku had personally explained to him why removing the petroleum subsidy was necessary. The former Edo State governor made the remarks in a TVC interview on Tuesday, responding to Atiku’s recent campaign commitment to reverse the subsidy removal.
Advertisements
“Atiku Abubakar himself, in his quiet moment, will laugh at himself. Don’t forget, I was the president of the NLC, and as vice president, Atiku lectured me about the waste of petroleum subsidy and why it is necessary to remove it, except that I disagree with them,” Oshiomhole said.
Questions Atiku’s consistency
The senator went on to question the consistency of Atiku’s position, pointing back to a 2023 proposal in which Atiku pledged to privatize the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). “Remember, Atiku is on record, just in 2023, as saying that he will privatise NNPC. You don’t have that tape? He even added that even if they kill him. I don’t know why he needs to die because he wants to privatise NNPC,” he said.
Oshiomhole also raised a broader question about how privatization and subsidy restoration could logically coexist, asking how a government could hand over the national oil company to private ownership while still dictating the price at which the new owners are allowed to sell their product. “So can you privatise something in private hands, and yet dictate to the new owner how to sell the product that he produces?” he asked.
Atiku, now the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said restoring the fuel subsidy would form part of his economic agenda if elected in 2027, arguing the move would help ease the cost of living and make petroleum products more affordable for ordinary Nigerians.
Oshiomhole maintained that Atiku’s earlier support for subsidy removal — and his previous push to privatize NNPC — raises legitimate questions about the sincerity and feasibility of his latest promise.
Advertisements
