Peter Obi, the former presidential candidate from the Labour Party, has shared his opinion on how President Bola Tinubu handled the removal of the fuel subsidy in Nigeria.

Obi said there were important steps that Tinubu should have taken before removing the subsidy, but he didn’t. He believes that proper planning would have helped reduce the problems Nigerians are now facing.

Back in 2023, Tinubu announced the removal of the fuel subsidy during his swearing-in ceremony in Abuja. This surprise announcement led to public outcry. Many Nigerians felt the government should have first put plans in place to help ease the effects of the subsidy removal.

Even with all the criticism Tinubu received, Obi made it clear that he agrees with removing the subsidy. He said he would have removed it too if he had become president.

In an interview with Arise Television, Obi explained that his campaign manifesto had included plans to remove the subsidy. He said, “I’ve always said I would remove the subsidy. My manifesto shows the steps I would take to do it in a proper way.”

Obi believes the real issue is not the removal itself, but how it was done. He said the process lacked proper organization and planning.

He also mentioned that the subsidy program was full of corruption and had to be stopped. But he stressed the need to do it in a more structured and careful way.

Obi criticized the current administration for not using the money saved from the subsidy removal to help Nigerians. He said the funds should be used to improve education, healthcare, and poverty reduction.

In short, Peter Obi supports removing fuel subsidy but believes it should have been done with better planning and the savings should be used to improve people’s lives.