2027: Atiku’s subsidy restoration pledge, unworkable trick, damning election strategy – Shehu Sani

The Kaduna Central Senatorial District candidate on the APC,pl and a former lawmaker in the 8th Senate, Shehu Sani, has faulted Atiku Abubakar’s pledge to restore fuel subsidy, described it as a ‘trojan horse’ and an election campaign trick that was impracticable.

The statement by the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Sani said, was designed to win votes ahead of 2027 general election, expressed surprise that the elder Statesman could at this time of his life, promised policy that is impossible to achieve.

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He recalled the former Vice President has in the past supported fuel subsidy removal throughout his political history and campaigns, hence, his promise to restore petroleum subsidy was highly suspicious.

Addressing journalists over the weekend, Sani, said, “What he is saying is outright deception of Nigerians.”

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“As someone who has always subscribed to Bretton Woods Institution neoliberal economic policies, someone who believes in World Bank and IMF prescriptions, devaluation of currency, privatisation of public enterprises and all sorts of capitalist bourgeoisie economic policies, and someone who has, throughout his political history and campaigns, stood for the removal of subsidy, for someone now to make a reversal simply because he needs votes, there is a need for Nigerians to seriously not take what he has said at face value,” Sani said.

He said the country has spent trillions on fuel subsidy to the advantage of smaller neighbouring countries as some petroleum smugglers would fuel cheap because of subsidy, and will go selling at higher price in the neighbouring countries.

“For a number of reasons, what he said is virtually impracticable.”

“We have also seen how beneficiaries of subsidies use this mantra of subsidy to defraud our country. Many of them have cases in court where hundreds of billions of naira were looted and diverted from the national treasury in the name of importing petroleum products under the subsidy regime,” he said.

He said the removal of subsidy had stopped that practice and provided more resources to state and local governments for development.

“Now, the removal of subsidy has also been able to provide resources for sub-nationals, for state governments and local governments, for them to be able to use for roads, schools and hospitals,” Sani said.

He questioned whether Nigeria could afford to return to subsidy at a time when a large proportion of its revenue was being used to service debt.

“Now, look at what is happening in Burkina Faso today. The young man here, Captain Traoré, nationalised the gold industry in Burkina Faso, and he is able to refine his gold to sell it to the outside world,” he said.

Sani challenged political leaders to focus on revamping Nigeria’s refineries rather than promising to subsidise imported petroleum products.

“If any politician makes pledges to revamp our refineries, so that we can refine our own crude oil, then he is making sense,” he said.

He added that the return of subsidy would not necessarily reduce the cost of living.

“And let us not deceive ourselves. The return of subsidy will not bring down the prices of commodities. It will simply distort the economic stability of our country,” Sani stated.

The former lawmaker cautioned against inflammatory statements in quest for power ahead of 2027 general election, cautioned against ethnic and religious sentiments, insisting that such was not healthy for the country.

He said: “Nigeria has gone into war and crisis, and we also have that experience as a nation the 70s, and we have passed through all those spaces, and ought to have overcome all those things now.

“The use of ethnic groups, religious, to undermine, to destroy, to damage and to attack parties and candidates is not a universal.”

Sani urged candidates to embark on issue based campaigns, on programmes and on facts.

He condemned Atiku for decolonising Nigeria by taking Nigerian politics outside Nigeria with idea of reporting issues to Donald Trump and the European Union, stating that, such easy route was injurious to the nations democracy.

“The idea of seeking easy route to power by strife towards seeking validation of President Donald Trump and the EU is not helpful to our democracy

“Opposition should concentrate on issues and make themselves available and appealing to the electorate rather than trying to criminalise the President or criminalise his political ambition or seek President Trump or the EU to disqualify him.

Sani argued that the action of opposition political parties were damaging the reputation of the country as an independent African nation.

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