Tinubu’s subsidy removal put Nigeria in total mess, we’ll bring it back in own own way – Kwankwaso 

By KEMI KASUMU

“Of course among the three of them, Bola Tinubu decided to remove the subsidy, in fact day one, without looking at all the possible issues that we thought were associated to that and that’s how we found ourselves in this total mess, economically. Everybody realizes that it was a mistake.”

The vice presidential candidate of Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has criticised the removal of fuel subsidy in the manner it was done by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a hasty decision that has worsened the economic situation of Nigerians for as long as he has ruled.

Kwankwaso, who is former Governor of Kano State, said the removal of the subsidy had not translated into improved living conditions for Nigerians.

He made the position in an interview with Arise Television, as captured in a video watched by The DEFENDER on Tuesday September 22, 2026, as part of his broader criticism of the Federal Government’s economic reforms, particularly the effect of higher fuel prices on transportation, food prices and household welfare.

Kwankwaso said, “In 2023 during the campaign, I remember the three of them (Tinubu, Atiku and Obi), all of them said they would remove subsidy. In fact, before then, Atiku added that he would sell all the refineries to his friends,” Kwankwaso said but, when he was interjected by his interviewer that Atiku only said that he would privatise the refineries and did not know that he added his ‘friends’, he said, “That’s what I know” and he moved on.

According to him, “Of course among the three of them, Bola Tinubu decided to remove the subsidy, in fact day one, without looking at all the possible issues that we thought were associated to that and that’s how we found ourselves in this total mess, economically. Everybody realizes that it was a mistake.

“But what Wazirin Adamawa did was just to play politics. I don’t think he meant what he said and, secondly, really he didn’t tell anybody how he was going to do it but he knew that people now are desperate. You will just get up one day and say you will remove it, even when you said many times that you would not remie it, now they have seen the consequences. They didn’t see it before, I saw it.”

Asked whether it was going to be difficult for him to go into the North West where many people want subsidy back and say he would not bring back the subsidy, he replied:

“We are bringing back subsidy in our own way”, he said and explained, “Of course there are many ways. I can tell you, now we have a refinery built by a business man and I’m sure more refineries will be built. If individuals in this country could build refinery, I see no reason why government under certain circumstances cannot build refineries to the extent that we achieve the minimum requirement.

“What is the minimum requirement? The minimum requirement is for the people across the country to go to the filling stations and buy fuel at a reasonable price. We, in the NDC, will do whatever it takes really to put the price of oil down ”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO OF INTERVIEW

In August 2026, Kwankwaso faulted the impact of subsidy removal, saying the policy had failed to produce better living conditions for Nigerians. He also cited worsening poverty, insecurity, inadequate infrastructure and difficulties faced by farmers as evidence of the economic pressures confronting the country.

The former Kano governor’s position is consistent with earlier statements in which he argued that the problem surrounding fuel subsidy was not simply whether it should exist, but how the system had been administered.

A recent report on the NDC position quoted Kwankwaso as saying, “I will end corruption in fuel subsidy, if elected,” while also saying he would examine and review subsidy regimes dating back to the 1970s.

His position comes amid an increasingly prominent debate over whether Nigeria should restore some form of petrol subsidy ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said he would restore fuel subsidy if elected, while Peter Obi, Kwankwaso’s NDC presidential running mate, has taken a different position, saying subsidy should remain removed but that the proceeds should have been better managed and used to cushion its impact on Nigerians.

The Tinubu administration announced the removal of petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023. Government officials have continued to defend the policy on the grounds that subsidy payments imposed a substantial burden on public finances. Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake said in September 2026 that Tinubu took a political risk by removing the subsidy in pursuit of longer-term economic reforms, while acknowledging the hardship and backlash that followed.

Kwankwaso’s criticism therefore places the subsidy question at the centre of the emerging 2027 economic policy debate, with opposition figures proposing different approaches to reducing the impact of fuel prices on Nigerians.