The presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has disagreed with African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.

Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Obi argued that subsidy removal remained necessary, saying the major problem was the alleged mismanagement of funds saved from the policy.

Obi said the government should have redirected the savings into programmes that would benefit Nigerians instead of allowing the resources to be “mismanaged and stolen.” He added that he had proposed an organised approach to subsidy removal in his 2023 manifesto.

Atiku, who had supported fuel subsidy removal during the 2023 presidential election, recently said he would restore the policy if elected in 2027.

The disagreement formed part of wider debates among opposition presidential candidates at the NBA conference over Nigeria’s economy, insecurity, policing and governance.