Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said he would restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, provided the corruption he associates with the scheme is eliminated.

Obi made the disclosure on Tuesday during an interview with the BBC, marking a significant shift from the position he took during his 2023 presidential campaign, when he advocated the removal of fuel subsidy and the redirection of government funds to education, healthcare and infrastructure.

Asked whether he would reinstate the petrol subsidy as president, Obi answered in the affirmative but qualified his position by insisting that the subsidy system would have to be fundamentally restructured.

“Yes. But remember, I have qualified it, not with the corruption that’s associated with it. I’ll remove the corruption and retain the subsidy,” he said.

Obi argued that corruption, rather than the principle of subsidy itself, was the major problem with Nigeria’s previous petrol pricing regime.

“From day one, I’ve talked about subsidy. I talked about corruption; corruption is the problem of subsidy,” he said.

Obi reverses 2023 subsidy position

Obi’s latest position represents a departure from his 2023 campaign platform, when he supported the removal of petrol subsidy and argued that government resources should instead be invested in productive sectors of the economy.

The issue has become politically and economically significant since President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023.

Tinubu declared that “fuel subsidy is gone”, saying funds previously committed to subsidising petrol would be redirected towards infrastructure, education, healthcare and job creation.

The decision triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices and contributed to a broader cost-of-living crisis, while the Federal Government maintained that subsidy removal was necessary to reduce fiscal pressure and reform the petroleum market.

Opposition politicians, including Obi and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, have criticised aspects of the implementation and its economic consequences.

Kwankwaso had earlier backed new subsidy model

Obi’s latest position comes about two weeks after his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, said an NDC administration would reintroduce petrol subsidy “in our own way” if the opposition coalition wins the 2027 presidential election.

Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor, made the statement during an interview with Arise TV while discussing the impact of subsidy removal and the resulting increase in petrol prices.

Asked whether the NDC would face difficulties campaigning in the North-West because of popular demand for cheaper petrol, Kwankwaso said the party would adopt a different approach.

“No, no, no. Look, we are bringing subsidy in our own way,” he said.

Kwankwaso said the proposed model would be linked to increased investment in domestic refineries and petroleum production, with the objective of making petrol available to Nigerians at more affordable prices.

He also criticised the manner in which the Tinubu administration implemented subsidy removal, arguing that the policy was introduced without sufficient consideration of its wider economic consequences.

Subsidy debate returns to centre stage

Obi’s statement is likely to put petrol pricing and subsidy policy back at the centre of the economic debate ahead of the 2027 elections.

The Tinubu administration has defended subsidy removal as a major fiscal and structural reform, arguing that the previous system placed a substantial burden on public finances.

The opposition has instead focused on the impact of higher petrol prices on households, transportation costs, businesses and inflation, while proposing different approaches to reducing energy costs.

Obi’s latest position appears to combine subsidy support with tighter controls against corruption and leakages in the system.

The economic implications of such a policy would depend on how subsidy payments are financed, how petrol prices are determined and how effectively the government prevents fraud and ensures that any benefit reaches consumers.

Obi rejects pressure to step down

The NDC presidential candidate also rejected suggestions that he should withdraw from the 2027 presidential race to allow another opposition candidate to emerge as a consensus candidate.

Rather than stepping down, Obi said opposition parties should focus on building a strategy capable of winning the election.

“We don’t need to step down. We need to do the right thing,” he said.

The question of a possible opposition alliance or consensus presidential candidate has remained part of discussions among opposition parties ahead of the 2027 election.

Obi links anti-corruption strategy to leadership

Obi also outlined his approach to tackling corruption, arguing that the conduct of the president and members of the president’s immediate family would have a major influence on the behaviour of government officials.

“If you are not stealing, if you are not involved, your wife and family are not involved, you reduce it by 50 per cent,” he said.

He was subsequently asked about the anti-corruption record of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who also campaigned extensively on an anti-corruption platform and sought to keep members of his family away from government.

Obi dismissed the comparison, saying Nigerians should not base their assessment on Buhari’s record.

“He was not in charge. The difference is that I’ll be in charge,” he said.

His comments came against the backdrop of corruption investigations involving some former government officials who served during the Buhari administration.

Petrol prices likely to remain key 2027 issue

The competing positions on petrol subsidy highlight one of the central economic choices likely to feature in Nigeria’s 2027 presidential campaign: whether to maintain the post-2023 market-based pricing system, modify it or introduce a targeted form of government support.

For investors and businesses, the debate extends beyond the pump price of petrol. It also concerns government spending, foreign exchange requirements, refinery economics, inflation, transportation costs and the fiscal sustainability of any future subsidy regime.

With domestic refining capacity expanding and the Dangote refinery increasingly supplying the local market, the structure of Nigeria’s petroleum pricing system is likely to remain a major economic policy issue as the 2027 election approaches.