APC Chairman Yilwatda to Atiku: Plan to Restore Petrol Subsidy Is Desperation for Power
By The Analyst Online Media
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his proposal to restore petrol subsidy if elected president, describing the position as an act of “desperation for power.”
Yilwatda’s position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by his media aide, Abimbola Tooki, in which he questioned Atiku’s policy stance on petrol subsidy.
According to the APC chairman, Atiku’s proposal represents a reversal of his earlier position regarding the removal of subsidy and raises questions about the sustainability of such a policy.
Yilwatda argued that returning to petrol subsidy would place additional pressure on the nation’s finances and could undermine efforts to reform the Nigerian economy.
He accused the former vice-president of placing political considerations above long-term economic interests, particularly as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.
The APC chairman maintained that the decision to remove petrol subsidy, although difficult and initially accompanied by economic hardship, was necessary to address what he described as structural weaknesses in the nation’s economy.
He therefore challenged political leaders seeking to reverse the policy to provide Nigerians with a clear explanation of how the government would sustainably finance such an arrangement without worsening the country’s fiscal challenges.
Atiku, a former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has consistently criticised aspects of the Tinubu administration’s economic policies and has advocated measures aimed at reducing the impact of rising living costs on Nigerians.
His proposal to reconsider petrol subsidy has consequently become another point of political disagreement between the opposition and the governing APC.
Yilwatda’s latest comments are expected to further intensify the emerging political debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with economic policy, fuel prices, living costs and the management of public resources likely to remain central issues in the campaign.
The controversy also reflects a broader national debate over whether petrol subsidy should remain permanently abolished or whether a targeted form of government intervention should be introduced to protect vulnerable Nigerians from the effects of high energy costs.
For the APC, however, Yilwatda’s message is clear: the party believes reversing subsidy removal would amount to returning to a costly system that successive governments have struggled to sustain.
As political activities gradually intensify ahead of 2027, Nigerians are likely to hear competing economic propositions from the major political actors, with the sustainability, affordability and social consequences of their policies becoming increasingly important to voters.