The Nigeria Democratic Congress has said its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would not simply transfer funds saved from petrol subsidy removal to state governors if elected president in 2027.
The party said Obi would instead seek to channel the resources directly into programmes capable of improving the welfare and economic prospects of Nigerians.
The position comes amid an increasingly heated argument over what has happened to the financial resources released following the removal of petrol subsidy.
Obi has consistently maintained that he supports the removal of subsidy but has criticised the way the resulting savings have allegedly been managed.
Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt earlier this week, Obi said subsidy removal itself should not be reversed simply because government has allegedly mismanaged the proceeds.
He argued that the resources recovered from subsidy removal should instead have been redirected into sectors such as healthcare and other areas that directly benefit citizens.
“What we should have done is that when we remove subsidy, we would have given the people an alternative usage for the subsidy,” Obi said.
His position places him in a different position from Atiku Abubakar, who has advocated the restoration of petrol subsidy.
Atiku has argued that subsidy removal has worsened hardship and reduced Nigerians’ purchasing power, while the Presidency has strongly opposed the proposal.
The NDC’s latest statement therefore seeks to frame Obi’s position as one that accepts subsidy removal but demands greater accountability and a more direct social return from the savings generated by the policy.