Convener of The Alternative Movement, Segun Showunmi, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his proposal to reintroduce a petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Showunmi described Atiku’s proposal as “overtly and inordinately ambitious,” arguing that Nigeria’s past experience with fuel subsidies had failed to deliver the intended benefits.
He made the remarks on Saturday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during a sensitisation and mobilisation programme in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Showunmi questioned the effectiveness of the subsidy regime, noting that Nigeria had operated various forms of fuel subsidy for decades without resolving challenges in the petroleum sector.
“We have tried subsidies in this country. We started it from 1973. And between 1973 and date, we have seen the result. If it had worked, wouldn’t we have seen it?” he said.
His comments followed Atiku’s renewed call for measures to reduce petrol prices and his proposal for a transparent production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians.
Atiku said his proposed model would have a fixed spending limit, require National Assembly approval and be subject to independent audits. He argued that government support for domestic production could reduce prices while encouraging local refining and job creation.
Showunmi, however, defended the economic direction of the Tinubu administration, saying he had spent the past year supporting its reform programme.
He maintained that Nigeria should move forward rather than return to policies that, in his view, had not produced the desired results, declaring: “Forward ever, backward never.”
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