Fuel subsidy reversal can’t be reduced to election season promises — Yilwatda

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The National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, says fuel subsidy reversal talks can’t be reduced to election season promises .

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This is as he condemned former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to reverse the removal of petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.

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Yilwatda,​‌‍​‌‍⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌​‍​‌⁠‌​ in a statement on Monday in Abuja, described Atiku’s proposal as a deeply troubling policy u-turn that raised serious questions about the opposition’s preparedness to govern Nigeria.

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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the statement was issued by Yilwatda’s Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Mr Abimbola Tooki.

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He said Nigerians deserved more than election-season declarations, adding that any proposal to restore a costly subsidy regime must be subjected to rigorous scrutiny.

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This, he said, was particularly given the enormous fiscal burden subsidies placed on public finances and the distortions it created in the economy.

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According to the statement, Yilwatda made the remarks during a visit to the headquarters of the City Boy Movement in Abuja, where he inspected the organisation’s facilities and interacted with its leadership.

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He noted that the opposition had been challenged repeatedly over the past three years to tell Nigerians what it would do differently if entrusted with power, yet no serious, coherent and convincing alternative had emerged.

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Yilwatda said it was therefore suspicious that, after more than three years of silence on a comprehensive governing agenda, Atiku was only now, about four months before the 2027 general election, presenting a policy that could reverse hard-won economic adjustments.

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According to the APC national chairman, Atiku’s proposal will set the country’s development trajectory back several years.

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“Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises. Nigerians deserve to know precisely where the money will come from.

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“What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated reform in the first place,” Yilwatda said.

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He maintained that the removal of subsidy was a difficult but necessary policy decision whose consequences required complementary measures to cushion its impact, expand social intervention and strengthen productive sectors of the economy.

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This is as he added that the real test of leadership was not the “ability to promise immediate relief for electoral advantage but the courage to take difficult decisions.”

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He said it also required explaining such decisions to citizens and remaining committed to policies capable of producing sustainable growth.

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Yiltwada said Nigerians were too discerning to hand over the nation to politicians who had yet to demonstrate what they would do with presidential power beyond reversing difficult but necessary reforms.

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He added that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections.”

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The APC national chairman said they should distinguish between policies designed to address structural problems and promises that might provide short-term political appeal while creating longer-term fiscal difficulties.

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He criticised the lack of ideological and organisational consistency within the opposition.

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He said politicians who continually move from one political platform to another could not credibly claim to offer the stability and clarity required to govern a complex country like Nigeria.

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Yilwatda noted that President Bola Tinubu had remained within the progressive political tradition throughout his political career, apart from periods of political mergers, while Vice-President Kashim Shettima had also maintained a consistent political trajectory.

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He added that key APC stakeholders had remained committed to the party and its progressive platform.

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Yilwatda further stated that the APC-led administration under Tinubu had taken difficult economic decisions and was implementing measures intended to reposition the economy and attract investment.

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He added that the administration had also taken economic decisions to strengthen domestic production and reduce dependence on unsustainable government interventions.

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Yilwatda warned that reversing such reforms
nwithout a credible alternative could undermine investor confidence, worsen fiscal pressures and jeopardise the gains being pursued under the current administration.n

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He urged Nigerians to be wary of political promises that appear designed primarily to secure votes rather than solve structural problems.

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The former minister also urged Nigerians to scrutinise the records and policy positions of those seeking the presidency, including the “history of disputes involving Atiku and former President Olusegun Obasanjo.”

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He said they should particularly scrutinise allegations surrounding corruption in the privatisation exercise undertaken during the Obasanjo administration.

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According to him, questions of accountability and economic governance must not be swept aside in the rush toward another election.

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The APC national chairman said the “2027 election should be a contest of ideas, competence and credible policy alternatives, not a competition in which difficult economic realities were glossed over for political convenience.”

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He said the 2027 election must be a contest between competing visions for Nigeria’s future, not a referendum on who could make the most attractive promises at the last minute.

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The APC national chairman reiterated that APC would continue to defend policies aimed at building a more productive, investment-friendly and economically-sustainable Nigeria, while remaining open to constructive criticism and credible alternatives.(NAN)

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