Sowore Vows To Restore Fuel Subsidy As Nigeria’s President

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has promised to restore fuel subsidy in Nigeria if elected President in the 2027 general election.

Naija News reports that Sowore made the pledge during an interview on ARISE TV on Tuesday while outlining his proposed approach to addressing Nigeria’s economic challenges.

Asked if he would reinstate fuel subsidy if elected, Sowore replied, “Absolutely.”

He argued that despite the removal of petrol subsidy, the federal government was still subsidising other aspects of the economy, including the naira.

“In the first place, they are still paying subsidy. They just changed the name of whatever they call it. They are subsidising not only petrol, because they don’t have enough and can’t produce locally, they are also subsidising the Naira. That’s one thing they will never tell you,” he said.

Sowore claimed that the exchange rate of the naira was being supported through what he described as “quiet and secret” subsidies.

“The reason the Naira is at a certain, you know, rate to a dollar, is because it’s being quietly and secretly subsidized,” he said.

Responding to the argument that governments around the world support their currencies, Sowore said his concern was the alleged lack of transparency surrounding subsidy policies in Nigeria, accusing the government of lying about its activities.

“Yes, but why are you lying about subsidy then? You know, we have to stop telling lies about… See, what everybody has agreed happened to subsidy, it’s not that subsidy is bad, because there’s no country in the world that doesn’t subsidize their poor,” he said.

The AAC candidate further argued that wealthy Nigerians benefited more from government subsidies than the poor, citing customs waivers granted to importers.

“In fact, the people that get the most subsidy in Nigeria is not the poor, it’s the rich. All the people who bring in, you know, foreign goods and services, go and look at their waivers at customs. You will know who is getting real subsidy compared to the people who are getting 10-10 Naira from each gallon of petrol that was taken away from them,” he said.

Sowore also linked the removal of petrol subsidy to the depreciation of the naira and the worsening economic conditions in the country.

“And you saw what happened immediately you remove subsidy. Look at where your economy tanked. Your Naira also went down the toilet,” he said.

He added that his administration would seek to tackle what he described as the “old mentality” responsible for the persistence of poverty in Nigeria.