Poor Nigerians shouldn’t suffer for subsidy removal — ADC's Kachikwu

Dumebi Kachikwu, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has faulted Nigeria’s approach to fuel subsidy removal, saying it is unjust to make ordinary citizens bear the brunt of government inefficiency.

Speaking in a recent interview, Kachikwu argued that as an oil-producing nation, Nigeria owes its people some level of protection from the high cost of energy. He insisted that the subsidy itself was not the problem, but the corruption and mismanagement around it.

“I believe any oil-producing nation should provide fuel subsidies for its citizens. It’s wrong that poor Nigerians are paying the price of our inefficiencies. A few people abused the subsidy scheme. The right thing was to prosecute them, not punish millions,” he said.

He further clarified that, contrary to popular belief, it was not President Bola Tinubu who initiated subsidy removal on inauguration day, but former President Muhammadu Buhari, who failed to make provisions for it in the national budget.

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“Tinubu only announced what Buhari had already done. But continuing without subsidy has pushed Nigerians into deeper hardship,” Kachikwu explained.

The ADC chieftain maintained that fuel subsidy, if properly managed, could ease the burden on citizens while the government works on long-term solutions for energy security.

He also used the moment to warn against recycling the same political elites who, according to him, failed to fix these problems in the first place.

Kachikwu said he was disappointed that the same political elites who presided over Nigeria’s decline are now attempting to hijack the ADC as a fresh platform to actualise their 2027 ambitions. He vowed to resist such moves and confirmed that he would be running again for president under the ADC banner.

“Atiku should go and rest. The same people who have tried and failed to deliver Nigerians from pain and penury cannot suddenly claim to be our saviours. They have been tried, tested, and found wanting. They are a crowd of ‘formers’ — former vice presidents, former governors, former ministers. Nigeria needs bold, fresh ideas, not recycled politicians,” he said.

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“Nigeria needs fresh ideas, not the same old politicians who created today’s mess,” he added.