The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has condemned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore petrol subsidy, warning that “desperation for power must not endanger Nigeria’s economy.”
He described Atiku’s position as a troubling policy U-turn that raises serious questions about the opposition’s readiness to govern.
Speaking during a visit to the headquarters of the City Boy Movement in Abuja, the APC chairman said Nigerians deserve more than election-season declarations.
“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,” he said.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, Yilwatda said any proposal to bring back a costly subsidy regime must be subjected to rigorous scrutiny, given the huge fiscal burden and distortions it created.
He noted that the opposition had been challenged for over three years to present what it would do differently, but “no serious, coherent and convincing alternative had emerged.”
He said it was therefore suspicious that, after more than three years of silence on a comprehensive governing agenda, the former Vice President was only now, about four months before the 2027 general election, presenting a policy that could reverse hard-won economic adjustments and set the country’s development trajectory back several years.
Professor Yilwatda maintained that the removal of subsidy was a difficult but necessary decision and that the focus should be on complementary measures to cushion its impact, expand social interventions and strengthen productive sectors.
He said the real test of leadership is not the ability to promise immediate relief for electoral advantage but the courage to take difficult decisions, explain them honestly to citizens and remain committed to policies capable of producing sustainable growth.
He also criticised what he called the lack of ideological and organisational consistency in the opposition, saying politicians who move from one platform to another cannot offer the stability needed to govern a complex country.
He contrasted this with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who he said has remained within the progressive political tradition, and Vice President Kashim Shettima, who has maintained a consistent political trajectory.
Yilwatda said the APC-led administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had taken difficult economic decisions and was implementing measures intended to reposition the economy, attract investment, strengthen domestic production and reduce dependence on unsustainable government interventions.
The APC chairman warned that reversing such reforms without a credible alternative could undermine investor confidence, worsen fiscal pressures and jeopardise gains being pursued by the current government.
He urged Nigerians to scrutinise the records and policy positions of presidential hopefuls, including the history of disputes between Atiku Abubakar and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, particularly allegations surrounding corruption in the privatisation exercise during the Obasanjo administration.
He said questions of accountability and economic governance must not be swept aside in the rush towards another election.
Yilwatda said the 2027 election should be “a contest of ideas, competence and credible policy alternatives, not a competition in which difficult economic realities are glossed over for political convenience.”
He added that the 2027 election must be a contest between competing visions for Nigeria’s future, not a referendum on who can make the most attractive promises at the last minute.
He said Nigerians are too discerning to hand over the nation to politicians who have yet to demonstrate what they would do with presidential power beyond reversing difficult but necessary reforms.
He added that Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections and distinguish between policies designed to address structural problems and promises that may provide short-term political appeal while creating longer-term fiscal difficulties.
Professor Yilwatda urged Nigerians to be wary of political promises that appear designed primarily to secure votes rather than solve structural problems.
He reiterated that the APC would continue to defend policies aimed at building a more productive, investment-friendly and economically sustainable Nigeria while remaining open to constructive criticism and credible alternatives.
