Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s removal of the fuel subsidy, saying the policy did not worsen poverty in Northern Nigeria.
Obi made this known during an interview with Arise TV on Thursday, where he argued that factors other than the removal of the fuel subsidy were responsible for insecurity in the region.
“The poverty in the North was not worsened because of the removal of fuel subsidy, there are other things. That is not what is causing insecurity,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor also promised that, if elected, his administration would tackle corruption associated with fuel subsidies and moderate petrol prices to reduce the cost burden on Nigerians.
“We’ll moderate fuel price all over Nigeria. We will remove corruption from subsidy. When I remove it, petrol and every other thing will go down. We are buying fuel at high cost,” he said.
Obi had, at a Nigerian Bar Association conference last month, also expressed support for Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy.
Meanwhile, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, had pledged to restore fuel and electricity subsidies if elected in the January 16, 2026 election.
