2027: Obi Rejects Atiku’s Fuel Subsidy Plan as Former Running Mates Clash Over Nigeria’s Economy
2027: Obi Rejects Atiku’s Fuel Subsidy Plan as Former Running Mates Clash Over Nigeria’s Economy
By Akin Alade
The debate over the future of Nigeria’s petrol subsidy has taken a dramatic political turn as Peter Obi openly disagreed with his former presidential principal, Atiku Abubakar, over the former Vice President’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy if elected President in 2027.
The disagreement is particularly significant because Obi and Atiku were political partners in the 2019 presidential election, when Obi served as Atiku’s running mate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Seven years later, the two former political allies are approaching Nigeria’s economic challenges from different directions, with subsidy policy emerging as another major dividing line ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Obi Disagrees With Atiku on Fuel Subsidy Restoration
Atiku recently reopened the national subsidy debate by promising to restore petrol subsidy if elected President in 2027, representing a significant shift from the position he took ahead of the 2023 presidential election, when he advocated removing the subsidy.
His proposal immediately generated reactions from the Presidency, politicians and economic commentators, with critics questioning the financial sustainability of returning Nigeria to the subsidy regime.
Peter Obi has now joined those opposing the proposal.
Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Obi maintained that removing the petrol subsidy was necessary. His disagreement was instead with the way the proceeds and benefits arising from the policy have been managed.
For Obi, therefore, Nigeria’s problem is not necessarily the removal of subsidy but what government does with the resources that should become available after its removal.
Obi Says Subsidy Removal Was Necessary
Obi argued that he had already made his position clear before the 2023 presidential election, when his manifesto proposed a structured approach to ending the subsidy regime.
His latest intervention effectively places him against Atiku on one of the most sensitive economic questions likely to shape the 2027 campaign.
While Atiku is proposing a return of petrol subsidy, Obi believes the policy should remain removed, with greater attention paid to accountability and productive utilisation of the proceeds.
The disagreement could also strengthen the argument that opposition presidential candidates will not necessarily present a common economic philosophy simply because they are united in their desire to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress.
From 2019 Political Partners to 2027 Policy Rivals
Perhaps the most politically interesting aspect of the controversy is the history between Atiku and Obi.
In 2019, Atiku selected Obi as his vice-presidential candidate as the PDP attempted to unseat then-President Muhammadu Buhari.
During that campaign, both men presented themselves as a team capable of providing an alternative economic direction for Nigeria.
Today, however, they are presidential contenders with different political platforms and increasingly different positions on major national questions.
Their disagreement over subsidy demonstrates how dramatically Nigeria’s political landscape has changed since their 2019 partnership.
It also raises an important question for voters: which economic approach offers Nigeria the most sustainable path forward?
Atiku’s Subsidy Promise Sparks National Debate
Atiku’s pledge has attracted strong criticism from the Presidency and some APC figures.
Critics have pointed particularly to his previous support for subsidy removal, questioning why the former Vice President now wants to reverse a policy he once regarded as necessary.
But Atiku and his supporters have sought to shift attention towards another question — what has happened to the financial benefits the Federal Government says have resulted from subsidy removal?
Supporters of Atiku’s intervention argue that Nigerians deserve greater transparency regarding the savings and how they have been deployed.
This means the debate has developed beyond a simple choice between restoring or permanently removing subsidy.
It is increasingly becoming a debate about accountability, government expenditure, economic hardship and the ability of political leaders to translate reforms into improvements in citizens’ living standards.
Obi Faults Management of Subsidy Savings
This is where Obi’s argument partly intersects with Atiku’s criticism of the Tinubu administration despite their disagreement over restoring subsidy.
Obi believes subsidy removal was necessary but has criticised the management of the proceeds, arguing that savings should have been invested transparently and productively.
His position therefore creates an unusual three-way economic debate.
President Bola Tinubu removed the subsidy and his administration has defended the reform as necessary for economic restructuring.
Atiku wants the subsidy restored, while simultaneously demanding accountability over savings generated since its removal.
Obi wants the subsidy to remain removed but insists that the proceeds must be properly managed and channelled towards productive areas capable of improving Nigerians’ lives.
These competing positions could become defining economic arguments of the 2027 presidential campaign.
Fuel Subsidy Could Become Major 2027 Campaign Issue
For ordinary Nigerians, however, the debate will ultimately be judged by its impact on household finances.
The removal of petrol subsidy in 2023 was followed by sharp increases in transportation and other living costs, making economic hardship a politically sensitive issue.
Consequently, any presidential candidate discussing subsidy ahead of 2027 will have to explain not merely whether it should exist, but how his proposed policy will affect transportation, inflation, government finances, businesses and vulnerable households.
Atiku will have to demonstrate how a restored subsidy would be financed without recreating the fiscal and transparency problems associated with the previous system.
Obi, on the other hand, will need to explain how maintaining subsidy removal while improving management of the proceeds would translate into measurable relief for citizens.
Tinubu and the APC will equally have to convince Nigerians that the sacrifices demanded by the subsidy reform have produced sufficient economic benefits.
2027 Battle Shifts From Personalities to Economic Ideas
The Obi-Atiku disagreement could ultimately benefit Nigeria’s democratic debate if it forces presidential candidates to move beyond political slogans and explain their economic programmes in greater detail.
Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election will not merely be about personalities, political parties or regional calculations.
Economic management is likely to remain at the centre of the campaign.
Atiku and Obi once stood on the same presidential ticket. In 2027, however, their different positions on petrol subsidy demonstrate that the former political partners are now prepared to challenge each other publicly over the direction Nigeria should take.
And as Nigerians continue to confront the effects of high living costs, the winner of the subsidy argument may not necessarily be the politician with the loudest message, but the candidate who can convince voters that his economic policy will genuinely improve their daily lives.
