By Erewunmi Peace

Former presidential candidate and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Dumebi Kachikwu, has pledged to restore the fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.

Kachikwu made this declaration during an interview, where he criticized the removal of fuel subsidy, describing it as a policy that unfairly punished ordinary Nigerians.

According to Kachikwu, the fuel subsidy should have been managed and restructured instead of being removed entirely. He stated that the elimination of the subsidy only worsened the economic hardship faced by citizens.

“The fuel subsidy is not the problem; corruption and inefficiency are. Instead of scrapping it, we should have fixed the loopholes and prosecuted those who abused the system,” Kachikwu said.

The ADC stalwart clarified that former President Muhammadu Buhari did not include subsidy in the 2023 budget, which left the incoming administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with no allocation for it.

Kachikwu argued that subsidy was originally designed to protect vulnerable citizens and should remain in place with proper oversight. He promised that if elected president in 2027, his administration would reinstate the subsidy and implement reforms to eliminate corruption in the oil sector.

This statement has sparked reactions among political analysts and citizens, as the debate on whether to maintain or remove subsidy continues to divide public opinion.