Former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has described former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s promise on fuel subsidy as a political strategy similar to the All Progressives Congress’ Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in the 2023 election.
Fayemi, who spoke during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Monday, said Atiku’s position on fuel subsidy was driven more by political considerations than economic realities.
“My take on that is that Atiku’s proposal of subsidy is politically equivalent to our own Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2023. It’s a political strategy. It’s not an economic construct,” Fayemi said.
The former governor, however, acknowledged that the promise could appeal to Nigerians struggling with the rising cost of living following the removal of petrol subsidy.
According to him, many vulnerable Nigerians are more concerned about their ability to survive and afford basic necessities than the technical arguments surrounding fuel subsidy.
“But understandably, it’s a political strategy that will sell with those who are hard done by the impact of fuel subsidy removal,” he said.
Fayemi maintained his longstanding position that fuel subsidy should be removed, noting that he had advocated the policy for years, including during his tenure as chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
“I was and I remain an advocate of fuel subsidy removal. As chairman of the governors’ forum, I spent four years in this battle,” he said.
He also said President Bola Tinubu inherited significant groundwork on subsidy removal from the previous administration, although he faulted the manner in which the policy was implemented.
“What President Tinubu inherited, in fairness to him, was the work that had already been completed by that administration. The only challenge I had with it was the way it was done,” Fayemi said.
The former governor explained that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum had previously worked with the Federal Government and the World Bank to develop a safety-net programme to cushion the impact of subsidy removal on the most vulnerable Nigerians.
He argued that the failure to sufficiently protect vulnerable citizens had created the hardship that Atiku was now seeking to turn into political support ahead of the 2027 election.
“I believe that’s what Vice President Atiku is taking advantage of. The vulnerable segment of the population is still hard done by,” Fayemi said.
Fayemi stressed that the immediate concern for many Nigerians was not the technical debate over subsidy but how to cope with the rising cost of living.
“They just want to live reasonably well, eke out a living, have one or two meals a day, be able to send their kids to school, not be taken in by sickness or anything that might create further problems for them,” he said.
He also linked poverty and inequality to insecurity, saying they were “also at the root of the insurgency and the banditry that we’re dealing with.”
Fayemi’s comparison places Atiku’s subsidy position within the wider political calculations ahead of the 2027 presidential election, arguing that the former vice president is seeking to capitalise on public dissatisfaction over the economic consequences of subsidy removal, just as the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket was deployed as an electoral strategy in 2023.