The Presidency and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi engaged in a heated exchange yesterday over the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange policies.
While Obi acknowledged the necessity of subsidy removal, he criticized the administration’s execution as haphazard and damaging to Nigeria’s economy.
In an interview on Arise Television, Obi stated: “I have consistently maintained that I would have removed the fuel subsidy. If you go to my manifesto, it is there and the steps I would have taken in an organised manner. There is nothing wrong with the removal of the fuel subsidy. What is wrong is the haphazard way it was announced and implemented.” The former Anambra governor questioned the government’s management of savings from subsidy removal, demanding transparency on investments in education, health, and poverty alleviation.
Since Tinubu’s May 29, 2023 announcement, petrol prices skyrocketed from N190 to over N850 per litre, while naira devaluation followed the forex floatation policy. Obi argued these policies required gradual implementation and economic productivity support, stating: “In all of this, I would have done the same thing in an organised manner.”
The Presidency fired back through Special Adviser on Policy Communications Daniel Bwala, who dismissed Obi as “a shallow personality” lacking governance expertise. Bwala wrote on X: “Anybody with a rational mind knows these guys are just looking to grab power, but they don’t have any alternative agenda…He seems to have very shallow knowledge of economics and governance.”
Meanwhile, the National Orientation Agency reported $84 billion savings from subsidy removal, citing infrastructure investments including 40 road projects. The agency noted states’ debt reduction from N5.82 trillion (June 2023) to N3.97 trillion (December 2024), and highlighted the 2025 budget’s unprecedented capital expenditure (N23.96tn) surpassing recurrent spending (N13.64tn).
