“He Lectured Me on Subsidy Removal, Now He Wants to Restore It” – Oshiomhole Questions Atiku’s Plan

Senator Adams Oshiomhole has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, questioning the difference between the proposal and Atiku’s previous positions on subsidy removal.

Oshiomhole made the comments during an interview with TVC on Tuesday, September 29, while reacting to Atiku’s campaign pledge. He recalled that when he was president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Atiku was vice-president, Atiku had argued that petroleum subsidy was wasteful and should be removed.

According to Oshiomhole, Atiku had previously explained to him why the subsidy needed to be eliminated, making his current proposal to restore it a significant change from the position Oshiomhole recalled.

“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.

The senator also referred to Atiku’s position during the 2023 presidential campaign, when the former vice-president advocated the removal of petrol subsidy and said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should be privatised. Reports from Atiku’s 2023 campaign confirm that he had supported completing subsidy removal at the time.

Oshiomhole questioned how privatising the national oil company would work if government continued to control the price at which petroleum products were sold.

“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’s Current Position

Atiku has maintained that he would restore petrol subsidy if elected in 2027, arguing that the policy could reduce the cost of living and improve Nigerians’ purchasing power. He later clarified that his proposal would not simply revive the former import-subsidy system.

Instead, Atiku has proposed a targeted, capped and transparently budgeted production subsidy linked to domestic refining. His campaign has said the approach would be designed to lower energy costs while supporting local refineries.

Atiku has also insisted that his position on subsidy has not changed, despite his earlier statements supporting subsidy removal.

The disagreement has made petrol subsidy one of the issues likely to feature prominently in the 2027 presidential campaign, with Oshiomhole and other critics questioning the policy’s cost and consistency, while Atiku’s camp presents the proposed intervention as a way of reducing pressure on households and businesses.