By: Lauretta Fagbohun, Abeokuta.
Otunba Segun Showunmi, has rejected the proposal by the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, to restore petrol subsidy if elected, describing the idea as “overtly and inordinately ambitious.”
Showunmi maintained that Nigeria had experimented with petrol subsidy for decades without achieving the desired results, insisting that the country must not return to what he described as a failed policy.
Atiku had advocated the restoration of petrol subsidy, arguing that Nigerians should benefit more from the country’s natural resources and that the removal of the subsidy had further worsened economic hardship.
However, speaking in Abeokuta on Saturday at a sensitisation and mobilisation programme in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, Showunmi defended the administration’s decision to remove the subsidy.
“We have tried subsidies in this country. We started it in 1973. And between 1973 and date, we have seen the result. If it had worked, wouldn’t we have seen it?” he asked.
According to him, the subsidy regime failed to translate into the expected benefits, while the country struggled for years to revive its refineries.
“We have seen that nothing has worked. They couldn’t even repair a refinery for so many years. And one private sector person has run a refinery.
And some person who is just overtly, inordinately ambitious is saying that he wants to return Nigeria back to Egypt. No! We have left Egypt,” Showunmi said.
He further argued that the removal of the subsidy had improved revenue available to the three tiers of government, saying the economic direction of the Tinubu administration remained appropriate for the country.
“If you have been following me, and I know you have, for the past one year, I have been screaming and shouting that the economic direction, the policy ideas, and the things that President Bola Tinubu is doing, is the right direction for the country.
“Now you have gotten to the point where there’s money in the local government, there’s money in the state, there’s money in the federal,” he said.
Showunmi also called for continuity in governance, arguing that long-term economic policies require sufficient time to produce results.
“We cannot be changing leadership every four years. Democracy is very difficult, and the ability to be able to even run policy requires a bit of time,” he said.
On opposition to Tinubu from some southern politicians, Showunmi dismissed their chances of defeating the incumbent, describing such political efforts as a waste of resources.
“You will never see the moon and the star come out when the sun is out. Anybody, especially from Yoruba nation, who is calling himself anything, when the sun is out, is wasting his time,” he said.
Showunmi urged Yoruba voters to support Tinubu in the 2027 election, warning that the South-West could be embarrassed if other regions eventually record higher votes for the President.
“I have come home to beg the Yoruba people that you will not be ashamed. Because when the election is over, and the people of North-East, North-West and North-Central produce more votes than you, then where will you put your face?
“Therefore, it is time to work now. We are back to 2003,” he added.
