‘It’s just a fraud’ — Atiku vows to remove petrol subsidy if elected president

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says he would engage creditors to seek “cancellation or forgiveness” to address the country’s foreign debt profile.

Abubakar said this on Tuesday at the Lagos Business School 2022 alumni day, while speaking on a range of economic issues in Nigeria, as well as his recovery plan for the country if elected president.

He also described the controversial petrol subsidy as a “fraud” and pledged to scrap it.

Abubakar said the economic gains of the PDP between 1999 to 2007 included debt cancellation, privatisation, banking reforms, and an effective working partnership with the private sector.

The presidential hopeful described Nigeria’s debt situation as “a mess”, and promised fix it if elected.

“I was the chairman for the removal of the fuel subsidy committee and I recall how we removed phase 1 and phase 2 of the fuel subsidy. I will continue from where we stopped, remove fuel subsidy totally and channel the subsidy funds back into the economy. In other words, it’s just a fraud,” he said.

“If you are talking about foreign debt, we have done it before, I will engage our creditors and ask for debt forgiveness or cancellation like we did before. Coming to local debt, if we stabilise the economy, we will borrow less, and propose a flexible payment plan.

“Again, I want you to compare our records with the current government and you can see who did well economically.”

Abubakar also said he would reform the oil and gas sector by ensuring that the right investors are engaged, such that Nigeria’s crude production increases while ensuring the privatisation of the three refineries in the country.

The former vice-president said, “with such policies in place, it will ultimately make Nigeria an oil production hub.”

He also vowed to ensure proper funding for public education, adding that the children of the poor should enjoy free education.

Commenting on the autonomy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Abubakar said the current managers of the apex bank are taking a cue from the current administration ”which lacks direction.”

Meanwhile, the federal government has projected to spend N6.7 trillion on petrol subsidy payments in 2023.

The country also spends N18.39 billion daily on petrol subsidy payments according to Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning.

Recently, Nigeria had its cost of servicing debt surpassing its retained revenue by N310 billion in the first four months of 2022.