Atiku backtracks on immediate subsidy return, opts for gradual approach

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has backed away from his earlier pledge to immediately restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027, saying any decision on the policy would depend on the economic situation he inherits.

Atiku stated this in an interview with the BBC monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), arguing that a 100 per cent withdrawal or reinstatement of the subsidy should not be undertaken abruptly without considering the prevailing circumstances.

The ADC candidate’s latest position appears to be a shift from his earlier promise to immediately reverse the fuel subsidy removal introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2023.

Atiku said any adjustment to the subsidy regime should be gradual and based on consultations with Nigerians, rather than implemented wholesale upon assuming office.

“We shall meet with the people and examine the situation together. It shall be gradual. Certainly not 100 per cent as done by the current administration,” he said.

According to him, the decision to reinstate the subsidy should be guided by the realities on the ground and the economic conditions confronting the country at the time.

He said abruptly restoring the subsidy without first assessing the situation would amount to “jumping into darkness” because an incoming administration would not immediately know the full extent of the economic challenges it had inherited.

Atiku had previously campaigned on the promise of reversing the fuel subsidy removal enforced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.