The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has strongly criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to reinstate petrol subsidy should he win the 2027 presidential election, describing it as a troubling policy reversal that exposes the opposition’s lack of a coherent governing agenda.
In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, Mr Yilwatda said Nigerians deserved more than election-season promises and insisted that any move to restore the costly subsidy regime must face rigorous scrutiny – particularly given the enormous fiscal burden and economic distortions subsidies have historically imposed.
Speaking during a visit to the City Boy Movement headquarters in Abuja, Mr Yilwatda noted that the opposition had been challenged repeatedly over the past three years to present a credible alternative vision for Nigeria, yet no serious, coherent plan had emerged. He argued that it was therefore suspicious that, with barely four months to the 2027 elections, Mr Atiku was now floating a policy that could reverse hard-won economic adjustments.
“Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season declarations. Nigerians deserve to know precisely where the money will come from, which 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,” Mr Yilwatda said.
He maintained that the removal of subsidy was a difficult but necessary decision, and that the real test of leadership lay not in making attractive promises for electoral gain, but in taking tough decisions, explaining them to citizens, and remaining committed to policies that deliver sustainable growth.
Mr Yilwatda urged Nigerians to carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the elections, distinguishing between policies designed to address structural problems and those offering short-term political appeal at the expense of long-term fiscal stability. He also took aim at the opposition’s lack of ideological and organisational consistency, arguing that politicians who continually shift platforms could not credibly offer the stability required to govern a complex nation.
Contrasting the APC’s record, Mr Yilwatda pointed to President Bola Tinubu’s long-standing progressive political trajectory and Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s consistent political alignment, adding that key APC stakeholders had remained committed to the party’s platform.
He warned that reversing subsidy reforms without a credible alternative risked undermining investor confidence, exacerbating fiscal pressures, and jeopardising the gains of the current administration. He also called on Nigerians to scrutinise the records of all presidential aspirants, including historical disputes involving Mr Atiku and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, particularly allegations surrounding corruption in the privatisation exercise of the Obasanjo era.
“Questions of accountability and economic governance must not be swept aside in the rush toward another election,” Mr Yilwatda stated.
He insisted that the 2027 election should be a contest of ideas, competence, and credible policy alternatives – not a referendum on who could make the most appealing last-minute promises. The APC, he reiterated, would continue to defend policies aimed at building a more productive, investment-friendly, and economically sustainable Nigeria, while remaining open to constructive criticism and viable alternatives.