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Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has defended the federal administration’s removal of the fuel subsidy while criticizing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for shifting stances on the policy.
Speaking in Abuja during an inspection of ongoing infrastructure projects within the territory, Wike pointed out that Atiku had previously pledged to eliminate the fuel subsidy within his initial hundred days in office during the 2023 campaign before recently committing to its restoration.
A statement released by Lere Olayinka, the senior special assistant to the minister, highlighted Wike’s inquiry into the motivation behind reversing a stance previously endorsed by the former vice president.
“Now, in 2026, he is not going to remove the fuel subsidy. Is he going back to the fraud, which he had alleged that fuel subsidy was?” Wike asked.
Characterizing the former candidate as inconsistent, the minister accused him of modifying positions to gain electoral support.
“Atiku, who is confused, who acts like a voodoo economist, Atiku will say anything just to be president,” Wike stated.
He argued that individuals seeking the presidency should maintain steady policies instead of altering viewpoints to fit current political climates.
“Leadership is not you coming out, you say one thing now in the morning, in the afternoon you say a different thing, in the night you are talking of a different thing. That is not it,” he added.
Furthermore, Wike questioned the feasibility of bringing back the subsidy given the evolution of the petroleum sector following the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act and the commercialization of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
“He is living in the past. If not, he will know that with the Petroleum Industry Act, NNPC is now fully commercialised. It has transformed the old NNPC into a limited liability company, and no longer the sole importer or producer of fuel,” Wike noted.
The minister also questioned whether a future administration under Atiku would subsidize petroleum products originating from local production facilities like the Dangote Refinery.
Warning against the reintroduction of price controls, Wike cautioned that such a move would undermine the structure established by the Petroleum Industry Act and dampen investor confidence.
“Reintroducing government-controlled fuel prices would reverse this policy direction, create regulatory uncertainty and weaken investor confidence in the sector,” he said.
He concluded by crediting President Bola Tinubu’s administration with boosting allocations to tiers of government through savings realized from the subsidy removal, asserting that the policy has improved public sector financial management.
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