Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s position on Nigeria’s petrol subsidy has evolved significantly over the past two decades, moving from support for subsidy reforms under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration to a campaign promise to abolish the subsidy, and now to a proposal for government support targeted at domestic refining.
The latest position has sparked debate over whether Atiku is reversing his earlier stance or proposing a fundamentally different model of fuel subsidy.
From subsidy reform to removal
Atiku became vice president in 1999 under President Olusegun Obasanjo and was involved in the administration’s economic policy discussions, including efforts to reform the petroleum pricing system.
Former presidential candidate Olawepo-Hashim has said Atiku supported the Obasanjo administration’s attempts to increase petroleum prices and reduce or remove fuel subsidies after the government assumed office.
Public opposition and resistance from the National Assembly, however, complicated the administration’s efforts and led to adjustments in the implementation of the policy.
Atiku later recalled his own role in the process, saying he chaired the committee responsible for subsidy removal and that the government implemented the reforms in phases.
“I was the chairman for the removal of the fuel subsidy committee and I recall how we removed phase 1 and phase 2 of the fuel subsidy,” Atiku said.
His recollection would later form part of his argument that he had consistently supported the eventual elimination of the subsidy regime.
2022–2023: Atiku backs complete removal
Atiku’s opposition to the existing subsidy system became particularly explicit during the 2023 presidential campaign.
Speaking at the Lagos Business School Alumni Day in November 2022, he said he would continue the subsidy-removal process begun under the Obasanjo administration.
He promised to remove the subsidy completely and redirect the funds into other areas of the economy, describing the existing arrangement as “just a fraud.”
As the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku maintained that the subsidy was financially unsustainable and that government resources should instead be directed towards infrastructure, development and other productive sectors.
He therefore went into the 2023 presidential election as a candidate who supported the abolition of petrol subsidy.
Tinubu removes subsidy
On May 29, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced during his inauguration that “Subsidy is gone.”
The declaration effectively ended the petrol subsidy regime and was followed by a substantial increase in petrol prices.
The development created an unusual political situation for Atiku. A major economic policy implemented by Tinubu broadly corresponded with the subsidy-removal position Atiku had advocated during the election campaign.
Three years later, however, Atiku began to focus more heavily on what he described as the consequences of the policy and the use of the savings generated by subsidy removal.
Atiku questions the use of subsidy savings
In August 2026, Atiku said his earlier position had not been opposition to subsidy removal itself.
Instead, he questioned what had happened to the money supposedly saved after the subsidy was abolished and whether Nigerians had received sufficient benefits from those savings.
The argument represented a shift in emphasis.
Rather than simply defending the removal of subsidy, Atiku was now challenging the way the post-subsidy savings had been managed and arguing for a policy that could reduce the cost of fuel for consumers.
Proposal to restore a different kind of subsidy
Atiku subsequently said that, if elected president in 2027, he would restore a form of petrol subsidy.
The proposal immediately attracted criticism from opponents, who accused him of seeking to reverse the reform implemented by Tinubu.
Atiku’s camp, however, argued that the proposed policy should not be confused with the former subsidy regime.
According to the proposal, government support would not be used primarily to subsidise imported petrol. Instead, it would be directed towards domestic petroleum production.
From import subsidy to production subsidy
Atiku’s proposed model would provide support to qualifying Nigerian refineries, including access to crude oil at preferential prices.
The scheme, as outlined, would be subject to spending limits, production and efficiency requirements, independent auditing and transparent budgeting.
The objective would be to encourage domestic refining while helping reduce the price of petrol for Nigerian consumers.
Atiku summarized the distinction by saying: “My proposal is not to resurrect the old subsidy regime. We will move subsidy from importation to production, from middlemen to Nigerian refineries, and from unverifiable claims to verifiable barrels.”
Under the proposed model, the subsidy would also be temporary and could decline as domestic refining capacity expands.
Reversal or policy redesign?
Atiku’s position can broadly be divided into three phases.
First was the reform phase, during the Obasanjo administration, when he was involved in efforts to reduce and remove fuel subsidies.
Second was the complete-removal phase, particularly during the 2022–2023 presidential campaign, when he explicitly promised to abolish the subsidy and described the existing system as fraudulent.
The third phase is the production-based support model now being proposed in 2026.
The distinction is important. Atiku is not presenting his latest proposal as a return to the former system of subsidising imported petrol. Rather, he is proposing government intervention aimed at domestic refining and production.
Critics can nevertheless argue that the proposal represents a reversal because it would reintroduce government financial support into the petrol market after Atiku had campaigned on eliminating the subsidy altogether.
Atiku’s position, meanwhile, is that the proposed intervention would be fundamentally different because it would be tied to domestic production, measurable output, transparency and a defined sunset mechanism.
The political stakes
The controversy has revived one of Nigeria’s most persistent economic debates: whether petrol subsidies should be eliminated entirely or redesigned to protect consumers while supporting domestic production.
For Atiku, the issue has evolved from a question of whether subsidy should exist to a question of what government should subsidise.
His earlier position focused on removing the subsidy from petrol pricing. His latest proposal focuses on supporting domestic refining as a means of lowering production costs and, ultimately, consumer prices.
Whether Nigerians view the proposal as a genuine policy redesign or a political reversal is likely to remain a major issue as the country moves towards the 2027 presidential election.