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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Economy & Trade

Fuel subsidy reversal can’t be reduced to election season promises, Yilwatda

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Context piece
  • The National Chairman of Nigeria's All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, criticized former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar's proposal to reinstate fuel subsidies.
  • Yilwatda called Abubakar's suggestion a "troubling policy u-turn" and questioned the opposition's readiness to govern, citing the fiscal burden of subsidies.
  • He argued that economic policy should not be reduced to election promises and that Abubakar's proposal would reverse years of economic adjustments.

Nigeria's ruling party has sharply criticized a proposal by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to reverse the removal of fuel subsidies, calling it a "troubling policy u-turn" that undermines the nation's economic progress. Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stated that such election-season promises are insufficient and raise serious questions about the opposition's preparedness to govern.

Fuel subsidy reversal talks can’t be reduced to election season promises.

— Nentawe YilwatdaCriticizing former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar's proposal.

In a statement issued by his media aide, Yilwatda argued that Nigerians deserve more than declarations made just months before elections. He emphasized that any proposal to restore a costly subsidy regime requires rigorous scrutiny due to the immense fiscal burden and economic distortions subsidies create. The APC chairman noted that the opposition has consistently failed to present a coherent alternative vision for governing Nigeria over the past three years.

Nigerians deserved more than election-season declarations, adding that any proposal to restore a costly subsidy regime must be subjected to rigorous scrutiny.

— Nentawe YilwatdaCommenting on the need for scrutiny of subsidy proposals.

"Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises. Nigerians deserve to know precisely where the money will come from. What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated reform in the first place," Yilwatda stated. He maintained that the removal of subsidies, while difficult, was a necessary decision.

Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises. Nigerians deserve to know precisely where the money will come from.

— Nentawe YilwatdaQuestioning the financial basis of Abubakar's proposal.

Yilwatda asserted that the true test of leadership lies not in promising immediate relief for electoral gain but in the courage to make tough decisions, explain them to citizens, and remain committed to policies fostering sustainable growth. He suggested that Nigerians are discerning enough to reject politicians who offer only reversals of necessary reforms.

The real test of leadership was not the “ability to promise immediate relief for electoral advantage but the courage to take difficult decisions.”

— Nentawe YilwatdaDefining true leadership in economic policy.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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