Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has formally rejected former Vice President Atiku Abubakar's proposal to restore fuel subsidy if he wins the 2027 presidential election, describing the promise as a “political response” to hardship rather than a serious fix for the country's broken finances.
NANS President Akinteye Babatunde Afeez made the group's stance clear in a statement on Wednesday, August 26, 2026. He said the student body wasn't taking sides in the political race, but felt duty-bound to speak on policies that affect the nation.
“Every sane and patriotic citizen who is conversant with our nation’s economy will agree with me that the removal of the fuel subsidy was a difficult but necessary economic reform,” Afeez said. He pointed out that the old subsidy system swallowed trillions of naira, disproportionately helped big fuel consumers, encouraged smuggling, and choked off government funds for schools, hospitals, and roads.
Afeez acknowledged that the removal has brought real pain – higher fuel prices, more expensive transport, and pricier food. But he argued that the answer isn't to reverse the reform. It's to ensure the money saved is put to work in ways that actually help Nigerians.
“The real measure of the reform should not be the savings alone, but what the government does with those savings,” he said. He pointed to increased spending on education, healthcare, infrastructure, and farming as signs that the sacrifice might eventually pay off. But he warned that an outright return to subsidy, without fixing the structural flaws that made it unworkable, would just recreate the same mess.
“This is why calls or promises for the outright return of subsidy, without a clear structural framework for addressing the fundamental weaknesses that made the policy unsustainable in the first place, amount to little more than a political response to a genuine economic challenge,” Afeez said.
Atiku has insisted he would bring back subsidy if elected, arguing that the government must ease the crushing cost of living. His camp has said the plan would be targeted at domestic production to lower transport and production costs. He recently corrected an aide who suggested the subsidy would only be restored temporarily. But NANS isn't buying it.
Afeez urged Atiku and other 2027 aspirants to bring forward clear, sustainable economic plans – not promises that offer quick comfort but fail the long-term test. He said Nigeria cannot afford to go back to a system where huge public money goes to fuel while states can't pay workers and roads crumble.
“Every aspirant willing to rule Nigeria and not run or, perhaps, ruin her must come to national debates with clear and sustainable policies that do not just address the immediate needs or comfort of our people, but rather, policies that best shape our country and can stand the test of time,” Afeez said.
The subsidy removal debate has been running hot since President Bola Tinubu scrapped the policy in May 2023. The government has defended the move as tough but necessary to free up cash for critical investments. But the gap between that long-term vision and the day-to-day struggle of Nigerians has kept the argument alive. NANS has now drawn a clear line: don't bring back the old subsidy. Bring a better plan.
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