Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has revealed that five former senior chiefs of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) recently visited him and conceded that his long-standing position on the fuel subsidy was correct.
Atiku made this disclosure while speaking with journalists, where he also reiterated his pledge to restore the fuel subsidy regime if elected president in 2027.
He accused the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu of failing to channel proceeds from the subsidy removal into critical sectors such as education, security, and poverty reduction.
According to the former vice-president, the five past NNPC leaders reached out to him last week to express a change of position on the contentious subsidy issue.
“Something happened last week. Five past leaders of NNPC called me and said, ‘We didn’t agree when you sketched your plan, but now we agree.’ They said they made a mistake, not me. Until you have power, those things cannot be done,” Atiku stated.
Atiku maintained that he was not opposed to the removal of fuel subsidy in principle but questioned how the savings from the policy had been utilised. He alleged that the funds expected to be freed up for development had not reached ordinary Nigerians.
“I didn’t oppose the removal of subsidy. But where is the money? The money gotten should have been used to tackle poverty, out-of-school children and other things. They stole it. I will return fuel subsidy,” he said.
However, the former vice-president’s claims have drawn sharp criticism from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who accused Atiku of inconsistency and described him as a “voodoo economist”.
Wike recalled that Atiku had pledged in 2022 to remove fuel subsidy within his first 100 days in office if elected president but was now advocating a return to the policy.
“Now, in 2026, he is not going to remove the fuel subsidy. Is he going back to the fraud, which he had alleged that fuel subsidy was?” Wike queried.
The FCT minister also questioned the feasibility of restoring fuel subsidy under the current structure of Nigeria’s petroleum industry, noting that the Petroleum Industry Act had transformed the old NNPC into a commercially operated limited liability company.
“He is living in the past. If not, he will know that with the Petroleum Industry Act, NNPC is now fully commercialised. It has transformed the old NNPC into a limited liability company, NNPC Limited, and no longer the sole importer or producer of fuel,” Wike stated.
Wike further challenged Atiku to explain how he would operate a subsidy regime with private refiners such as the Dangote Refinery now in the picture.
“Will Atiku, as President—which he never will be—pay subsidy on fuel produced by Dangote Refinery?” he asked.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy shortly after assuming office in May 2023, a decision that triggered a sharp increase in fuel prices and the cost of living across the country. The policy has remained one of the most debated economic decisions of his administration.
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