2027: I’ll Restore Fuel Subsidy If Elected President — Sowore

African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has stated that he would restore the fuel subsidy if elected President in the 2027 election.

Sowore made this known during an interview on ARISE TV on Tuesday while outlining an alternative approach to Nigeria’s economic challenges. Asked whether he planned to bring back fuel subsidy if elected, Sowore responded, “Absolutely.”

He argued that the Federal Government was still subsidising some aspects of the economy despite its removal of petrol subsidy.

“In the first place, they are still paying subsidy. They just changed the name of whatever they call it. They are subsidising not only petrol—because they don’t have enough and can’t produce locally—they are also subsidising the Naira. That’s one thing they will never tell you,” he said.

Sowore said the exchange rate of the naira was also being supported through what he described as quiet and secret subsidies. “The reason the Naira is at a certain, you know, rate to a dollar, is because it’s being quietly and secretly subsidized,” he said.

Responding to the argument that countries routinely support their currencies, Sowore said the issue was the government’s alleged lack of transparency over subsidies.

“Yes, but why are you lying about subsidy then? You know, we have to stop telling lies about… See, what everybody has agreed happened to subsidy, it’s not that subsidy is bad, because there’s no country in the world that doesn’t subsidize their poor,” he said.

He argued that wealthy Nigerians benefited more from government subsidies than poor citizens, citing customs waivers granted to importers.

“In fact, the people that get the most subsidy in Nigeria is not the poor, it’s the rich. All the people who bring in, you know, foreign goods and services, go and look at their waivers at customs. You will know who is getting real subsidy compared to the people who are getting 10-10 Naira from each gallon of petrol that was taken away from them,” he said.

Sowore also linked the removal of fuel subsidy to the decline in the value of the naira and the broader economic challenges facing Nigerians.

“And you saw what happened immediately you remove subsidy. Look at where your economy tanked. Your Naira also went down the toilet,” he said.

He said his administration would seek to address what he described as the old mentality responsible for persistent poverty in the country. “So, there’s no need for us to sit down here and ask, ‘Oh, what would you do differently?’ Of course, what we have to do differently first and foremost is to get rid of this old mentality and the ideas that brought poverty to become a standard, you know, household name in Nigeria,” Sowore said.

He also criticised the use of the term multidimensional poverty to describe the country’s economic situation.

Sowore cited food insecurity concerns in Nigeria, saying the country had become an exception among oil-producing nations facing food shortages. .

“The Food and Agriculture Organization regards Nigeria as one of the places where you need food in 2026. That is to say, we are so bad, and we are about the only country producing oil that is on FAO’s list of countries that, you know, that has food shortages. That’s, that’s the country we are in,” he said.

Sowore said government communication about the economy was focused too heavily on presentation rather than addressing the conditions facing Nigerians.

President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the decades-old fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, during his inauguration speech, declaring that “subsidy is gone.”

He said the policy could no longer be justified because of its rising cost and that the funds would instead be redirected to public infrastructure, education, healthcare and job creation.

The decision took effect almost immediately, causing petrol prices to more than double from previous regulated levels and contributing to higher transport and living costs across the country.