Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, vice-presidential candidate of the
Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), says the party “will do whatever is
necessary” to reduce petrol prices, including possibly restoring the subsidy if
it wins the 2027 presidential election.
Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano, spoke on Thursday during
an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol
subsidy on May 29, 2023, during his inauguration.
According to the former governor of Kano, Nigerians have yet
to recover from the economic shock of the policy. He argued that tackling corruption in the oil
industry could help address the problem.
“We have seen the implication of removing the subsidy from
day one in the country till today. Up till now, I think nobody has recovered
from that shock of removing the subsidy on that day,” Kwankwaso said.
“Now, we sat down many times, we looked at the issues, and
we looked at the history of his excellency Peter Obi in Anambra and my humble
self in Kano, and even the leader, his excellency Dickson.
“We looked at the issues based on the committees and so on,
and I can tell you the NDC, and of course, our ticket, one can call them the
mother of all subsidies because whatever we can do from our own end to ensure
that the masses of this country have got to live because life now as it is like
hell all over the country.
“Our collective position now is that the price of energy in
this country is too high,” he said.
“And our position is we are going to do whatever is
necessary to ensure that the price of fuel in this country is taken back,
including doing whatever we can, including the subsidy.”
Kwankwaso’s comments come weeks after Peter Obi, the NDC
presidential candidate, said his administration would restore the petrol
subsidy after tackling corruption in the country.
Speaking in September at the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA)
2026 conference in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, Obi said the
mismanagement of the gains from the removal of the subsidy by the current
administration was not enough reason to reinstate it.
Other presidential candidates have also criticised Tinubu
over the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Donald Duke, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential
candidate, said earlier this month that he would reduce the price of petrol to
about N300 per litre if elected president in 2027.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate
of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said in August that he would restore
the petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.
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