A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kola Ologbondiyan, has criticised the Federal Government’s handling of fuel subsidy removal, saying the policy has placed a heavy burden on Nigerians.
Ologbondiyan, while defending the position of the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, said the Tinubu administration should review aspects of the policy to reduce the cost of fuel and ease the economic pressure on citizens.
He made the remarks on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday while responding to the ongoing debate between Atiku and President Bola Tinubu over the removal of fuel subsidy.
President Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy during his inauguration at Eagle Square, Abuja, on May 29, 2023.
Since then, the policy has remained a major subject of political and economic debate, particularly as the cost of petrol and other essential goods has risen sharply.
Ologbondiyan clarified that Atiku was not proposing a return to the previous subsidy regime, but rather a review of the factors contributing to the high cost of petroleum products.
“Let me start on a very clean note, which is that nobody is returning Nigeria to the old system. Nobody is contemplating that, not the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Nobody is,” he said.
According to him, the focus should be on identifying areas within the petroleum supply chain where costs could be reduced to make fuel more affordable for consumers.
“I have always told the Tinubu administration to review the subsidy regime. I did declare that the removal of the subsidy would hurt Nigerians and the Tinubu administration more,” Ologbondiyan said.
He argued that the government should examine the cost of production and distribution from the point of production to the final consumer, with a view to reducing unnecessary costs.
“So, what is Atiku talking about? Atiku is saying that if you look at the cost of production, from production to the end user, there must be areas that are reviewable in the hope of reducing the cost of production, in a manner that will enable end users to buy their products at a lower price, compared with the strangulating situation Nigerians are currently passing through,” he said.
The ADC chieftain said the debate should not be reduced to accusations over corruption under previous administrations, stressing that Nigerians were currently facing significant economic hardship.
“These are the issues, and not all these political arguments that I want to take you back to those times when they were doing corruption,” he stated.
Ologbondiyan questioned whether the government had fulfilled the promises and measures it presented to Nigerians following the removal of the subsidy.
He argued that the hardship experienced by citizens demonstrated the need for the policy to remain open to review.
“Now, what is happening is that all the issues that were subsequently raised about the subsidy removal, have they been able to fulfil them?
The situation has forced Nigerians and has brought everybody to their knees. So, what are we saying—that the situation is static, that it’s not reviewable?” he asked.
He further maintained that Atiku’s proposal differed from what critics of the ADC candidate had portrayed, accusing some members of the President’s camp of failing to properly examine the former vice-president’s position.
“Atiku’s programme differs from what they are saying. I’m not sure they even have the patience to study what the man is proposing,” he said.
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Ologbondiyan highlighted the increase in the pump price of petrol since the subsidy removal, noting that Nigerians who previously bought fuel for around N200 or less now pay substantially more.
“We were buying fuel for about N200 or less before May 29, 2023, but today we are buying fuel for N1,300,” he said.
He argued that the sharp increase had translated into higher living and production costs for Nigerians, with the effects extending beyond the price of petrol to transportation and other essential goods and services.
The ADC chieftain also dismissed suggestions that Atiku’s current position represented a reversal of his earlier stance on subsidy removal.
He questioned why the Tinubu administration and its supporters were accusing Atiku of changing his position when, according to him, the political camp that eventually formed the government had itself previously spoken about subsidy reforms.
“So, I also find it laughable that Atiku said this in 2023 but is now changing his position. What do they take Nigerians for?” he asked.
Ologbondiyan further challenged the President’s camp to explain its own position before assuming that Atiku was acting inconsistently.
“Didn’t the President’s camp, before they came into office, campaign against subsidy removal? Didn’t they come into government on account of subsidy reforms? So, I don’t understand where they are coming from,” he said.
The debate over fuel subsidy has become increasingly prominent as political parties and presidential aspirants begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While the Federal Government has maintained that subsidy removal was necessary to reform the economy and reduce the burden of financing petrol consumption, opposition figures have continued to call for measures that would cushion the impact on households and businesses.
Ologbondiyan’s comments add to the growing political debate over how Nigeria should manage its petroleum sector, with the ADC insisting that the focus should be on reducing costs and improving the welfare of Nigerians rather than returning to the previous subsidy system.