A fresh crack has emerged within Nigeria’s opposition camp as former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi publicly disagreed with African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential hopeful Atiku Abubakar over calls to restore fuel subsidy if elected in 2027.

Speaking on Monday at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Obi insisted that fuel subsidy removal remains the right economic decision, but argued that the Federal Government has failed to manage the proceeds transparently and effectively.

His remarks come amid growing debate over the impact of President Bola Tinubu’s subsidy removal policy and increasing political positioning ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Atiku, who had previously supported subsidy removal during the 2023 presidential campaign, recently signaled a change in stance, promising to reintroduce the policy if elected president in 2027. The proposal has sparked discussions among political stakeholders and economic analysts over the future of Nigeria’s fuel pricing regime.

However, Obi distanced himself from the idea of bringing back the subsidy, maintaining that the policy itself was not the problem.

According to him, the real issue lies in how government authorities have handled the funds generated from the removal of the subsidy.

“I subscribe and I maintain that we need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” Obi stated.

The former Anambra State governor argued that while subsidy removal was necessary to ease pressure on public finances, the government failed to put adequate measures in place to protect ordinary Nigerians from the economic shock that followed.

He noted that citizens should have been provided with practical alternatives and social support mechanisms to cushion the immediate effects of rising fuel prices and transportation costs.

“What we should have done is that when we removed it, we should have given the people alternative usage for the subsidy,” he said.

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Obi further alleged that the resources generated from the policy have not been channeled into meaningful development projects, claiming that the funds are being poorly managed.

In a strongly worded criticism, he accused authorities of allowing the recovered resources to be squandered rather than invested in sectors capable of driving economic growth and improving citizens’ welfare.

“What we have today is that the removal and the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” he said.

The former governor stressed that he had long advocated for a carefully planned and transparent approach to subsidy removal, pointing to proposals contained in his 2023 presidential manifesto.

According to him, the policy should have been implemented through a structured process that guaranteed accountability and ensured that recovered funds were invested in critical sectors such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, and job creation.

“Go to my manifesto. I said it before. I said I will do it in an organised manner and whatever we recover would be invested appropriately,” Obi added.

President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, a move that immediately triggered a sharp rise in fuel prices nationwide and intensified concerns over the cost-of-living crisis facing millions of Nigerians.

While the Federal Government has repeatedly defended the policy as an unavoidable economic reform aimed at reducing fiscal burdens and freeing up resources for national development, critics continue to question the transparency surrounding the management of the savings generated from the exercise.

Obi’s latest comments not only reignite the national conversation on subsidy removal but also underscore growing differences among opposition figures over how Nigeria should tackle its economic challenges ahead of the 2027 presidential election.