• Survey shows Nigerians have rejected Tinubu’s policy
• Obi will restore subsidy in different form, says Kwankwaso

At least 67 per cent of Nigerians are demanding the restoration of the fuel subsidy, a report by geopolitical research firm, SBM Intelligence, has disclosed.

Consequently, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said the latest SBM Intelligence survey confirmed that “Nigerians have rejected President Bola Tinubu’s fuel policy and are demanding immediate relief’ from the crushing cost of living.

In the same vein, the vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, disclosed that an NDC government led by Peter Obi would reintroduce fuel subsidies, but through a different approach.

In the Wave 2 analysis of the Nigeria 2027 Voter Sentiment Tracker, entitled ‘Nigeria 2027: A Narrower Race’, SBM Intelligence surveyed 1,103 eligible voters through face-to-face interviews across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), representing all six geopolitical zones.

Fieldwork took place in diverse settings, including markets, viewing centres, schools and hotels in both urban and rural environments.

However, the report cautioned that its sampling frame was a direct snapshot of stated sentiment among the surveyed population and did not adjust for historical turnout, NPC population projections or INEC voter registration figures, meaning it may not fully capture the complete scale of voter sentiment for the 2027 presidential election.

Though petrol has rapidly emerged as a standalone political issue across the country, it was absent as an issue option in the survey’s first wave.

However, it jumped to become the second-most cited national problem at 18.2 per cent, the worst-rated issue of the Tinubu administration with a performance score of 1.69 out of 4, and the subject of a core policy rejected by nearly seven in ten citizens.

According to the report, “it is now the second-most cited national problem at 18.2 per cent, the government’s worst-rated issue at 1.69 out of 4, and the subject of a policy the public rejects by 67.4 per cent to 19.2 per cent.”

President Tinubu has firmly ruled out a return to the petrol subsidy regime, sparking a major political and economic debate as opposition figures advocate its reinstatement ahead of the 2027 elections.

ATIKU, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, PhrankShaibu, stressed that the SBM finding represents a damning public verdict on an administration that removed subsidy without a plan and condemned millions of Nigerians to unprecedented hardship.

The 67.4 per cent figure, he noted, is more than an economic statistic; it represents the growing majority of Nigerians who have rejected Tinubu’s punishing economic philosophy and are embracing Atiku’s alternative vision of a government that protects its citizens rather than abandons them to the cruelty of market forces.

“This survey is no longer about economic policy; it has become a democratic question. When an overwhelming majority of Nigerians declare that a government policy is destroying their lives, responsible leadership must listen,” Atiku said.

The former VP noted that petrol had become the second-most-cited national problem and the Tinubu administration’s worst-rated policy issue, with a miserable score of 1.69 out of four.

“This survey is not merely about percentages. It is the collective cry of Nigerian families who can no longer afford food, workers whose salaries disappear on transportation, farmers who cannot move their produce to market and businesses collapsing under the weight of fuel and energy costs.

“For three and a half harrowing years, Nigerians have suffered under Tinubu’s reckless ‘subsidy is gone’ experiment. Transport costs have exploded. Food prices have soared. Businesses have collapsed. Purchasing power has been destroyed, and millions of families have been pushed deeper into poverty,” Atiku said.

He described the survey as particularly revealing because 32.4 per cent of rural respondents identified petrol as their primary concern, compared with 11.7 per cent in urban areas.

KWANKWASO, a former Kano State governor, during an interview with AriseTV, yesterday, said the NDC would seek ways to reduce the cost of petrol for Nigerians, including increased investment in domestic refining.

“We are bringing subsidy in our own way,” Kwankwaso said when asked whether the party’s position on subsidy would affect its campaign in the North-West.

Explaining the proposed approach, he said the government could establish more refineries to boost local production and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.

According to him, the expansion of domestic refining capacity would help ensure that Nigerians can purchase petrol at a reasonable price.

“We, in the NDC, will do whatever it takes, really, to put the price of oil down,” he added, criticising how Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy shortly after assuming office in 2023.

He noted that the major presidential candidates in the 2023 election had supported subsidy removal but faulted Tinubu for implementing the policy immediately.