Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has rejected former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore petrol subsidy, insisting that the subsidy should remain removed and that the savings must instead be properly invested for Nigerians.

Obi said the problem was not the removal of the subsidy itself but the alleged mismanagement of the money saved from its removal. He argued that the resources should have been redirected into areas such as healthcare, education, security and other services that directly improve citizens’ lives.

He said the government had reported receiving about ₦16 trillion from subsidy savings and questioned why Nigerians were not seeing sufficient benefits from those resources.

Obi also argued that restoring the subsidy because the savings were allegedly mismanaged would not solve the underlying problem. Instead, he said the government should ensure that the money recovered from subsidy removal is transparently and productively used for the benefit of Nigerians.

His position puts him at odds with Atiku, who recently said he would restore a targeted petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, arguing that it would help restore Nigerians’ purchasing power.