Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to reinstate fuel subsidies has continued to attract criticism, with law lecturer and national affairs commentator Saifudeen Coomassie questioning its economic rationale.
Coomassie, of BAZE University, Abuja, described the proposal as politically motivated, arguing that a return to fuel subsidies could reverse recent fiscal reforms.
He said Nigeria had spent more than ?13 trillion on fuel subsidies over a decade without achieving the desired economic benefits.
‘We spent over ?13 trillion on subsidies in 10 years. What did we get? Debt, smuggling, round-tripping, and refineries that collapsed.
‘It enriched a few cabals while 200 million Nigerians got poorer,’ he said.
Coomassie described subsidy removal as a difficult but necessary economic reform and commended President Bola Tinubu for taking what he called difficult decisions on the economy.
He urged policymakers to channel public resources and borrowing towards infrastructure and productive investments, including compressed natural gas buses, roads, student loans, and the development of local refining capacity.
He also argued that government spending should prioritise measures that expand productive capacity and reduce the country’s long-term dependence on imported petroleum products.
‘Stop the bleeding,’ he said. ‘Take the money we were borrowing to drink fuel and invest it in CNG buses, roads, student loans, and local refining. That is long-term prosperity, not applause today,’ Comassie noted.
He also accused the opposition of inconsistency, noting that major parties campaigned on removing subsidies and privatising parts of the oil sector in the run-up to the 2023 polls but have, in his view, reversed course now that those reforms have been enacted.
‘The biggest manifestos of both Atiku and Peter Obi in the last election were the removal of subsidy and the privatisation of the oil sector.
‘Now that President Tinubu has implemented all their manifestos, they have nothing left to campaign on, so they are making a U-turn. That is a clear sign of desperation.’
Coomassie also pointed out that much of the resentment is from the opposition elite.
He said, ‘Nation building is not about popularity. It is about doing what is right for the next generation,’ warning that a return to subsidised fuel would saddle future budgets with recurring costs.
‘The question before Nigerians is simple,’ he said. ‘Do we go back to a subsidy scam because we want cheap fuel today? Or do we stay the course to build infrastructure that our children will inherit? You cannot borrow money to subsidise what you do not produce.’
Coomassie stressed, ‘Returning subsidy is desperation for votes, not policy.’