Subsidy Is Bad Until It Isn’t? Peter Obi Says He’ll Bring It Back—Without the Corruption

Peter Obi Says He Would Restore Fuel Subsidy Without the Corruption That Once Surrounded It

Nigeria’s fuel subsidy debate has returned to the centre of political discussion, with Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), saying he would restore the subsidy if elected president in 2027 — but only after addressing what he describes as the corruption associated with the system.

Obi made the comments during an interview with the BBC’s Madina Maishanu, where he discussed his economic position, the 2027 presidential election and his views on the controversial removal of petrol subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023. 

Asked whether he would bring back fuel subsidy, Obi answered in the affirmative, while stressing that his proposal would not be a return to the previous system in which, according to him, corruption undermined the policy.

> “I will remove the corruption and retain the subsidy.”

Obi explained that his position on subsidy has often been misunderstood. According to him, his concern has always been the corruption surrounding the implementation of the subsidy rather than the concept of subsidy itself. 

The issue has become particularly significant since May 29, 2023, when President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy during his inauguration. The Federal Government argued that the subsidy had become increasingly expensive and that resources previously committed to it could instead be redirected towards infrastructure, education, healthcare, transportation and job creation. 

The policy immediately changed the economics of petrol in Nigeria, with pump prices rising sharply. Reuters reported at the time that Nigeria had been spending billions of dollars annually on the subsidy, while petrol consumption subsequently fell substantially after the removal. 

The reform, however, has remained politically and economically contentious. While the government has argued that subsidy removal was necessary to strengthen public finances and reduce waste, Nigerians have experienced significant increases in transportation, food and other living costs. Reuters reported in 2026 that the government said much of the financial gains from subsidy removal had been absorbed by higher debt-servicing costs and increased government expenditure. 

Obi's latest position therefore places the subsidy debate back into the centre of the emerging 2027 political conversation. His proposal is not simply to return to the former arrangement, but to maintain a subsidy mechanism while attempting to eliminate the corruption he says made the previous system problematic.

During the same BBC interview, Obi also addressed the disputed outcome of the 2023 presidential election. He said he did not like “going back to the past” but maintained his belief that he won the election, while acknowledging that there was no evidence establishing his claim.

> “I don’t like going back to the past. I won the election. Well, there’s no evidence but I won the election.”

Obi challenged the 2023 election result in court, but the Presidential Election Petition Court rejected his challenge, and the Supreme Court subsequently upheld the election outcome. 

With the 2027 election approaching, fuel subsidy is likely to remain one of the major economic issues confronting presidential candidates. The central question for Nigerians will not only be whether subsidy should return, but also how any future subsidy programme would be funded, administered, monitored and protected against fraud while ensuring that its benefits reach consumers.

Obi's latest declaration has therefore added another dimension to an already heated national debate: **whether Nigeria should completely abandon fuel subsidy or redesign it in a way that provides relief to citizens without reproducing the corruption and financial burden associated with the previous system.**