Kachikwu Vows To Bring Back Fuel Subsidy If Elected President

Dumebi Kachikwu, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says he will reintroduce fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.

He argued that Nigeria, as an oil-producing country, has a duty to shield its citizens from the high cost of fuel rather than make them pay for failures in managing the subsidy system.

The businessman-turned-politician explained that the problem with the subsidy scheme was not its existence but the corruption and abuse that surrounded it. He insisted that instead of scrapping it, the government should have punished those who exploited the system and put in place stronger measures to prevent abuse.

Kachikwu dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu was the one who removed subsidy, saying the policy was already gone under Muhammadu Buhari, who failed to make provision for it in the 2023 budget. According to him, Tinubu only confirmed the situation he met on ground when he assumed office.

Looking ahead to 2027, Kachikwu declared that he would contest again on the platform of the ADC and resist attempts by politicians he described as “spent forces” to hijack the party for their ambitions. He singled out Atiku Abubakar, urging him and other veteran politicians to step aside for younger candidates with fresh ideas.

The ADC chieftain linked Nigeria’s struggles since independence to divisions created by colonial rule, which, he said, left the country fractured along tribal, religious, and regional lines. He argued that Nigeria had never truly become a united nation and called for a new national charter to define shared values, identity, and responsibilities.

He also promised that, if elected president, he would confront issues of inequality and injustice head-on, insisting that no one should be above the law. His vision, he said, is to create a country where every citizen feels included, rather than one where leaders favor only their ethnic or political allies.

Kachikwu rejected the idea that governing as a nationalist would make him unpopular. In his view, serving all Nigerians equally also benefits his own people, since fairness creates stability and prosperity that reaches everyone.

He dismissed the recent wave of former political heavyweights seeking to enter the ADC, describing them as leaders who had been tried and failed. According to him, Nigerians deserve new leaders with bold and innovative ideas, not recycled politicians who contributed to the country’s decline.

With his stance on subsidy, governance, and leadership renewal, Kachikwu is positioning himself as a voice for change, even as he prepares to battle both the ruling party and long-time political figures in the race for Nigeria’s top seat.