Former Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, Ayo Arise, has criticized the proposal of former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, to restore the fuel subsidy regime if he is elected president in 2027.
Arise, a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), described the proposal as economically regressive, arguing that the removal of the subsidy, despite the initial hardship it imposed on Nigerians, had strengthened the financial capacity of the federal and state governments.
He said the increase in resources available to governments had enabled them to meet critical obligations, including the regular payment of workers’ salaries, without constantly relying on loans or financial assistance from the Federal Government.
According to him, the broader economic benefits of regular payment of wages should not be overlooked, as workers with disposable income can meet household needs, pay school fees and patronize businesses, thereby stimulating economic activities.
Arise spoke on Wednesday during an interview on Television Continental (TVC News) while reacting to Atiku’s promise to review the subsidy removal policy and return to the previous regime if elected in 2027.
He said those advising the former vice president had not adequately presented him with the broader implications of the policy, particularly the financial gains governments had recorded since eliminating subsidies.
Said Arise: “I imagine the former vice president’s advisors haven’t done him any favors. They haven’t done it by explaining that to him, look, when the government now has enough funds without any interruption to pay salaries.”
“Without running to the Federal Government to ask for any type of loan to pay salaries, some of this is taken for granted because it happens in real time and no one complains.
“But in the past, when salaries were not paid, those who received a salary could not buy the little things they needed. They could not pay school fees as was the case in the old days.
“Even if they are given loans or credit, they will not be able to meet their obligations. So it really comes down to the fact that if people do not have the purchasing power because they are not paid on time, this has consequences beyond what one can easily explain.”
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The former lawmaker maintained that a substantial part of the additional resources now available to governments came from the removal of the fuel subsidy, adding that the funds could be channeled into critical sectors, including education and infrastructure.
He cited the use of recovered funds to support the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) as an example of how additional government resources could be deployed to ease the burden on families and allow students who would otherwise drop out of school to continue their education.
Arise argued that Nigerians should evaluate the policy of removing subsidies beyond the immediate increase in the cost of living, questioning the justification for returning to what he described as a system characterized by mismanagement and corruption.
He said the old subsidy regime had created opportunities for fraud, including claims for petroleum products that were supposedly never imported into the country.
“The regime of total mismanagement, of corruption, of diverting our resources outside, people come saying that they have imported oil, they only bring documents, they pay them subsidies without anything reaching Nigeria.
“They were even diverting those things to West African countries. These are some of the agreements, I think, that a good advisor would have presented to his director before such statements could come to light,” he said.
Arise therefore urged Nigerians to consider the long-term economic implications of any proposal to restore fuel subsidy, rather than focusing solely on the immediate relief such a policy could provide.
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