Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has pledged to restore petroleum subsidy if elected president in the 2027 general elections, saying his administration would first eliminate the corruption that has plagued the subsidy regime and rendered it ineffective for ordinary Nigerians. Obi made the declaration at a town hall meeting organised for the Obi-Kwankwaso presidential ticket in Sokoto on Monday, September 28, 2026, where he identified corruption as one of the major challenges undermining Nigeria’s development and promised to fight it across all sectors if elected. “People are talking about subsidy but what is all about it is corruption. By removing the corruption, I assure you that we will bring back subsidy,” Obi said. “The problem of Nigeria is corruption, as such, if elected, we will stop all forms of corruption in every sector of the country.” He repeated the commitment in a subsequent interview with the BBC, stating, “From day one, I’ve talked about subsidy. Corruption is the problem with subsidy. I will remove the corruption and return the subsidy. If you are not stealing, if you are not involved, and your wife and family are not involved, then you reduce it by 50 per cent.”
The pledge represents a significant shift from Obi’s previous position on the fuel subsidy. In August 2026, at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Obi said the removal of petrol subsidy should not be reversed because of the alleged mismanagement of the savings generated from its removal. “I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds shouldn’t be the reason for not removing it,” he said at the time. He had consistently argued that while the subsidy regime was riddled with corruption and criminality, the solution was to fight the corruption rather than return to a system that had enriched a few at the expense of the many. His decision to now promise the restoration of subsidy, conditioned on the elimination of corruption, has been interpreted by some analysts as a response to the political realities of the 2027 campaign, particularly in the North-West, where there is significant public support for the return of the subsidy and where Obi and his running mate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, are seeking to build support.
The timing of the pledge is significant. Obi made the commitment just days after Kwankwaso said an Obi-led administration would reintroduce fuel subsidy in a different form, explaining that the government could invest in refineries and increase domestic production to make petrol available to Nigerians at a reasonable price. The NDC and Obi’s camp subsequently backed Kwankwaso’s proposal, with Obi’s spokesman, Idris Zekeri, saying there was no contradiction between Obi’s position and Kwankwaso’s statement, arguing that the party was proposing a new approach to making petrol affordable while tackling corruption in the subsidy system. The party’s position has nonetheless drawn criticism from those who argue that the promise to restore subsidy contradicts Obi’s previous advocacy for its removal and undermines the credibility of his reform agenda. Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, has also made the restoration of the subsidy a central plank of his campaign, while the ruling All Progressives Congress has consistently defended the removal as necessary and irreversible. The Presidency has insisted that the subsidy removal was in the nation’s best interest, despite calls from opposition figures for a reversal.
Obi’s broader policy message at the Sokoto town hall focused on security, education and economic development. He said education would be his number one priority after unity and security, and he pledged to link all state capitals by rail to promote economic activities and national development. He called on Nigerians to support NDC candidates in the 2027 elections, describing the task of addressing the country’s challenges as a collective responsibility, and said the party was committed to what he called a politics of care and service to Nigerians. Kwankwaso, in his remarks at the same event, said the delegation was in Sokoto to engage residents and seek their support ahead of the 2027 elections, and he acknowledged the security challenges facing the North-West, particularly banditry and kidnapping, saying the NDC was committed to mitigating those challenges and making Nigeria better. The party’s governorship candidate in Sokoto State, Dr Shamsudeen Haido, also promised to provide good governance if elected.
The 2027 presidential election is scheduled for January 16, with the governorship and state assembly elections following on February 6. President Bola Tinubu is seeking a second term on the All Progressives Congress platform, while Obi is contesting on the NDC ticket with Kwankwaso as his running mate. Atiku Abubakar is flying the flag of the African Democratic Congress, and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde is running on the Allied Peoples Movement platform. The debate over fuel subsidy has emerged as one of the defining issues of the campaign, with the government defending the removal as necessary for economic stability and the opposition promising varying forms of restoration or reform. Obi’s latest statement adds a new dimension to that debate, framing subsidy restoration not as a return to the old system but as a policy that would be implemented after corruption had been eliminated from the petroleum sector. Whether voters accept that framing, and whether the promise resonates more in the North-West than his previous position did, will be determined at the polls in January. For now, Obi has made his position clear: he will remove the corruption and return the subsidy. As he put it, corruption is the problem, and if a leader is not stealing and his family is not involved, the cost of the subsidy can be reduced by half.
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