Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his promise to restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Wike questioned Atiku’s current position, recalling that the former vice president had previously spoken in favour of removing the subsidy.
The FCT minister argued that Atiku’s latest proposal represents a reversal of his earlier position and accused him of seeking to reintroduce a system that he described as susceptible to abuse.
The dispute comes after Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, said he would restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.
The former vice president has argued that subsidy could be restructured to reduce the burden of high fuel prices on Nigerians.
Wike, however, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the subsidy, which has been one of the defining economic policies of the administration.
The minister has repeatedly argued that the government inherited an economy in serious difficulty and that difficult reforms were necessary.
The subsidy debate is expected to become a major issue in the 2027 presidential campaign as political parties present competing approaches to the cost-of-living crisis.
For the opposition, the argument is increasingly centred on the impact of subsidy removal on households and transportation costs.
For the Tinubu administration and its supporters, the policy is presented as necessary to eliminate the fiscal burden associated with the former subsidy regime.