APC CHAIRMAN: ATIKU’S SUBSIDY PROPOSAL MAY REVERSE ECONOMIC GAINS

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has warned that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy could worsen Nigeria’s fiscal pressures and undermine recent economic reforms.

Yilwatda said a return to the subsidy regime could affect the ability of federal and state governments to sustain the new minimum wage, fund education and meet other obligations to citizens.

He spoke in Abuja while receiving a delegation of economic stakeholders who visited him to discuss the state of the economy, ongoing reforms and prospects for sustainable growth.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, the APC chairman said the subsidy debate should focus on how the policy would be financed and sustained, rather than only on its potential to reduce petrol prices.

He argued that the removal of subsidy had increased federal allocations to states, helping some sub-national governments meet salary and pension obligations and undertake development projects.

Yilwatda also linked the subsidy debate to education financing, highlighting the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, which he said had expanded access to tertiary education financing and reduced the financial burden on families.

He further said sustaining higher wages would require governments to have sufficient revenue to meet recurrent obligations without compromising spending on infrastructure, healthcare and education.

The APC chairman acknowledged the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy, but maintained that returning to what he described as an expensive and fiscally unsustainable system was not the solution.

He urged political leaders advocating a return to subsidy to explain the cost, funding source, duration and long-term sustainability of the policy.

Yilwatda said the Federal Government remained committed to economic reforms aimed at increasing productivity, investment and employment, while urging stakeholders to continue engaging government on measures to reduce the impact of the reforms on vulnerable Nigerians.