A member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Musa Illiyasu Kwankwaso, has cautioned Nigerians against what he described as the deception surrounding the proposal by ADC presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to restore the petroleum subsidy.
He warned that the proposal, if implemented, could plunge Nigeria and its citizens into deeper poverty and economic uncertainty.
Kwankwaso, who is also the Director of Finance at the Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority, said returning to the former fuel subsidy regime could impose a heavy financial burden on the country.
He said President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the subsidy had helped stabilise the economy and improve the country’s savings, while young people were benefiting from Federal Government support programmes.
Kwankwaso argued that restoring the subsidy could place additional pressure on government finances and affect spending on workers’ salaries, education grants, healthcare, pensions and infrastructure.
He also warned that reversing the policy could lead to a return of fuel queues and create fresh challenges for the government in meeting its financial obligations.
According to him, the debate over fuel subsidy should go beyond political arguments, urging Nigerians to consider how the government would finance such a policy without recreating the fiscal pressures associated with the previous arrangement.
Kwankwaso added that the removal of the subsidy had enabled state governments to pay salaries more consistently and pursue infrastructure development projects across the country.
He further noted that the Federal Government was undertaking major infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Kano-Abuja highway and the Kano-Maiduguri highway.
He urged Nigerians to reject Atiku’s proposal, which he described as outdated, and continue to support the Tinubu administration.
