…Nigeria Has Been ‘Removing Subsidy’ Since 1989 Without Getting Better
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African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has renewed his opposition to the removal of petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy has largely benefited governments while worsening the economic burden on poor Nigerians.
Sowore made the remarks on Monday while speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference, NBA-AGC 2026, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Addressing lawyers and other participants at the conference, Sowore maintained that he had consistently opposed the removal of petrol subsidy for years and questioned the argument that eliminating the intervention was necessarily in the interest of ordinary Nigerians.
According to him, the fundamental question in any subsidy debate should be who ultimately benefits from government support and who bears the consequences when such support is withdrawn.
“The question about subsidy is, who are you subsidising?” Sowore asked.
He argued that while various forms of government support frequently favour wealthy Nigerians and political office holders, petrol subsidy was one of the few interventions from which millions of ordinary citizens received a direct benefit.
Sowore claimed that state governments had emerged among the biggest beneficiaries of the increased revenues flowing to the federation since the removal of petrol subsidy, while ordinary Nigerians continued to struggle with higher transportation and living costs.
He also challenged the portrayal of subsidy removal as a new economic solution, recalling that successive Nigerian governments had repeatedly reduced or removed petroleum subsidies over several decades while promising that the resulting savings would improve the country.
Sowore recalled being a student during similar subsidy debates in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He said Nigerians were repeatedly told that removing subsidies would ultimately make the country better, yet similar arguments were still being advanced decades later.
@thenigerialawyer Sowore tells lawyers at NBA-AGC 2026 that fuel subsidy removal has benefited governors mor e than poor Nigerians. Says ordinary NIS were the real beneficiaries in f the petrol subsidy #creatorsearchinsights #trendingtrends #nbaagc26 #sowore ♬ original sound – TheNigeriaLawyer
“They said Nigeria will be better. Here we are in 2026, they are still removing subsidies,” he said.
The AAC candidate argued that repeated subsidy reforms had failed to provide the transformational improvements promised to Nigerians.
He maintained that the effect of the latest removal had been particularly severe on low-income citizens because petrol prices have a direct impact on transportation, food distribution and the cost of other goods and services.
“The poor people of this country only benefit from subsidies from petrol, gasoline,” Sowore said.
He contrasted petrol with products such as aviation fuel, arguing that government policies should prioritise ordinary citizens rather than predominantly protecting the interests of wealthier sections of society.
“Please, please, don’t let these politicians lie to you,” he told participants at the conference.
Sowore’s remarks are consistent with the position he has taken during the build-up to the 2027 presidential election.
Earlier in August, the AAC candidate said he would restore petrol subsidy if elected President, maintaining that subsidy itself was not economically undesirable if properly targeted at vulnerable citizens.
He has also argued that virtually all governments subsidise particular sectors of their economies and that Nigeria should concentrate on ensuring that public support reaches those who genuinely need it.
President Bola Tinubu announced the end of the petrol subsidy regime during his inauguration on May 29, 2023.
The decision resulted in significant increases in petrol prices and transportation costs, although the Federal Government has maintained that the previous subsidy system was financially unsustainable and deprived the country of resources required for infrastructure and social development.
The administration has also pointed to increased allocations to federal, state and local governments following the removal as evidence that more public revenue is now available for development.
Sowore, however, argued at the NBA conference that increased government revenues should not automatically be regarded as evidence that the policy has improved the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.
He also linked the subsidy debate to transportation policy, stressing that governments should invest in functional mass transit infrastructure capable of reducing citizens’ dependence on expensive road transportation.
During his remarks, Sowore criticised the record of a former Rivers State governor present at the conference over a rail transportation project which he said failed to provide the expected benefits to residents.
He argued that political leaders who had previously held executive office should be prepared to account for the infrastructure and policies they implemented while in government rather than merely criticising the current administration.
Sowore told the gathering that Nigerians should evaluate political leaders on their records and the tangible impact of their policies on citizens.
His intervention brought the continuing debate over petrol subsidy directly into the 2027 election conversation, with the AAC candidate positioning himself against the policy adopted by the Tinubu administration and arguing for a system of government support targeted principally at ordinary Nigerians.
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