Fuel subsidy has moved to the centre of the 2027 presidential race. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has asked President Bola Tinubu to tell Nigerians what his government has done with the N15.8 trillion reportedly saved since petrol subsidy was removed in 2023, and with more than $100 billion borrowed under his administration.
Obi’s challenge came on the same weekend that Vice President Kashim Shettima attacked the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over his stance on subsidy, prompting a sharp reply from the Atiku campaign.
Obi’s questions for the President
In a social media post on Saturday titled “Good Day, Mr President: Nigerians Deserve Accountability”, Obi asked Tinubu to account for the subsidy savings, the loans taken since 2023 and the increase in government revenue from taxation, according to Channels Television, Tribune and Naija News.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigerians should be told how many people had been lifted out of poverty, how many out-of-school children had returned to classrooms and how many primary healthcare centres were working. He also raised electricity supply and insecurity, at a time when Lagos, Abuja and other states are facing widespread power outages.
Obi commended the President for spending a night in Akwa Ibom State during his campaign tour, but urged him to make similar visits to the remaining 33 states. He also claimed Tinubu had spent more than 260 days outside Nigeria since taking office. “Mr President, Nigerians deserve answers,” he wrote.
Shettima: Atiku “intellectually malnourished”
Speaking at the APC presidential campaign rally in Rivers State on Saturday, Vice President Shettima described Atiku as “intellectually malnourished” and said he had been misled by “voodoo economists” on fuel subsidy, New Telegraph and Naija News reported.
Shettima defended Tinubu’s reforms, saying the economy was close to collapse when the President took office. He also criticised Obi’s record as governor of Anambra State and said the NDC candidate had become politically irrelevant.
Atiku hits back
In a statement issued on Saturday by Phrank Shaibu, his campaign’s Director of Strategic Communication, Atiku rejected Tinubu’s recent attacks on his business and education investments, Naija News reported. He said his investment in education began long before he entered public service, tracing it back to the academy that later became the American University of Nigeria.
Responding to the President’s insistence that Nigeria cannot return to subsidy, the statement asked whether moving “forward” meant deeper poverty, rising debt, insecurity and unemployment. It claimed that government policies had pushed more than 79 million Nigerians into extreme poverty.
Why subsidy has become a campaign issue
Tinubu announced the end of petrol subsidy in his inauguration speech in May 2023. The decision freed up trillions of naira previously spent on keeping pump prices low, but it also pushed petrol prices sharply higher and fed into high inflation. Petrol now sells at well over N1,200 per litre at depots.
The government says the savings have gone into infrastructure, social investment and increased allocations to states. The opposition argues that ordinary Nigerians have not felt the benefits, and that rising borrowing undermines the case that the reform has improved public finances.
The weekend exchanges also come as Atiku’s candidacy faces legal uncertainty after a Federal High Court judgment nullified the ADC leadership and his ticket, a ruling the party has said it will appeal.
What happens next
The Presidency had not publicly responded to Obi’s questions as of Sunday morning. With the main candidates now campaigning across the country, fuel prices, debt and the cost of living are likely to remain the main battleground. Analysts say voters will be watching whether the government publishes a clear breakdown of how subsidy savings have been spent.
Sources: Channels Television, Tribune, Naija News, New Telegraph, Premium Times.
