The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has warned that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to reinstate fuel subsidy could reverse the economic gains recorded under the ongoing reforms of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda said a return to the subsidy regime could worsen fiscal pressures on governments and undermine the payment of workers’ salaries, education financing, infrastructure development and other essential public services.

The APC chairman stated this while receiving a delegation of economic stakeholders in Abuja, according to a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki.

Atiku, who has emerged as a leading opposition figure ahead of the 2027 presidential election, recently pledged to restore fuel subsidy if elected, saying the measure would cushion the impact of its removal on Nigerians.

The former vice president had also promised during the 2023 presidential campaign to remove the subsidy if elected.

President Tinubu, however, announced the removal of fuel subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, declaring that “fuel subsidy is gone.”

Although the policy triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices and contributed to higher living costs, the Federal Government has maintained that the reform has strengthened government revenues and improved the country’s fiscal position.

Reacting to Atiku’s latest proposal, Yilwatda said the subsidy debate should go beyond political rhetoric and focus on how such an intervention would be financed and sustained.

He said, “The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy raises fundamental questions about how such a policy would be financed and sustained without returning Nigeria to the cycle of fiscal pressures that characterised the previous arrangement.

“Subsidy may appear attractive because it promises cheaper petrol, but Nigerians must also ask the bigger question: who pays for the subsidy and what happens to the resources that government must divert to finance it?

“A policy cannot be judged only by its immediate benefit at the pump. We must examine its impact on government revenues, salaries, pensions, education, healthcare, infrastructure and the overall capacity of government to meet its obligations to citizens.”

The APC chairman recalled that several states previously struggled to pay workers’ salaries and pensions, with some resorting to partial payments.

According to him, increased allocations to states following the removal of fuel subsidy have strengthened their finances, warning that reintroducing the policy could expose governments to the fiscal pressures associated with the former arrangement.

Yilwatda also expressed concern over the possible impact of subsidy reinstatement on the education sector, recalling the prolonged disruption of academic activities in Nigerian universities under the previous administration.

He said a return to what he described as a fiscally unsustainable subsidy regime could weaken governments’ capacity to finance education and other essential services.

“A return to a fiscally unsustainable subsidy regime could have consequences far beyond the price of petrol. When government revenue is squeezed, the first victims are often the critical sectors that directly affect the welfare and future of our people,” he said.

On the new minimum wage, the APC chairman said the sustainability of improved workers’ salaries should also be considered in the subsidy debate.

He stressed that governments must have sufficient resources to meet recurrent obligations, warning that higher wages should not come at the expense of funding infrastructure, education, healthcare and other essential services.

Yilwatda also highlighted reforms in Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem, saying they were creating opportunities for young Nigerians, freelancers, software developers, consultants and content creators to receive international payments.

“Our young people are no longer limited by geographical boundaries. A Nigerian content creator, software developer, consultant or freelancer can provide services to clients anywhere in the world.

“But that opportunity requires a financial and payment system capable of supporting the global digital economy.

“We must therefore be careful about policies that could undermine the progress being made in strengthening Nigeria’s financial and digital ecosystem,” he said.

The APC chairman also described the Nigeria Education Loan Fund as an important intervention that had expanded access to tertiary education financing and reduced the immediate financial burden on families.

He stressed that sustainable financing of education was necessary to prevent young Nigerians from abandoning their studies because of their inability to afford tuition and other educational expenses.

Yilwatda acknowledged the hardship Nigerians had experienced following the removal of fuel subsidy, saying the government must continue to implement measures to cushion the impact on vulnerable citizens.

He, however, maintained that the solution should not be a return to a system that, according to him, created serious fiscal distortions.

“The hardship Nigerians have experienced is real, and government must continue to respond to it. But the answer cannot simply be to return to a system whose long-term fiscal implications created serious distortions in our economy.

“What Nigerians deserve is an economy that can sustainably finance good wages, quality education, healthcare, infrastructure and social protection without depending on an opaque and expensive subsidy system,” he said.

Yilwatda urged Nigerians to demand clarity on the financial implications of any proposal to restore subsidy, including its source of funding and the programmes that might have to be sacrificed to sustain it.

“Whenever anybody proposes a return to subsidy, Nigerians should ask: how much will it cost? Where will the money come from? What programmes will be sacrificed to finance it? And for how long can the government sustain it?

“These are legitimate questions that must be answered before the country embarks on another expensive policy experiment,” he said.