The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his plan to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Adebayo made the comment on Wednesday during an interview with News Central, where he questioned the former vice-president’s changing position on fuel subsidy.
Atiku, who is contesting the 2027 presidential election under the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said he would reintroduce a form of petrol subsidy if elected, arguing that the government has enough resources to reduce the burden of high fuel prices on Nigerians.
Adebayo, however, said the proposal was inconsistent with the position Atiku took during the 2023 presidential election.
According to him, Atiku had previously promised to remove petrol subsidy and sell the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) if he won the presidency.
He argued that it was contradictory for Atiku to now support a policy he had previously opposed.
Adebayo said the change in position showed a lack of consistency among Nigerian politicians, particularly as several political figures have moved between parties and changed their policy positions ahead of the 2027 election.
He recalled that Atiku contested the 2023 presidential election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and campaigned on economic reforms that included the removal of petrol subsidy.
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President Bola Tinubu eventually removed the subsidy shortly after assuming office in May 2023. The decision led to a sharp rise in petrol prices and increased economic pressure on households and businesses.
Atiku has since presented a different approach to the issue, arguing that the government could use Nigeria’s crude oil resources to support domestic refining and reduce the cost of petroleum products rather than returning to the old subsidy arrangement.
He has maintained that his proposed intervention would be designed to provide relief to Nigerians while making better use of the country’s oil resources.
Adebayo, however, maintained that the change remained difficult to reconcile with Atiku’s earlier position.
He also expressed concern over the movement of politicians from one political party to another ahead of the 2027 elections.
The SDP candidate argued that frequent defections had weakened ideological commitment within Nigeria’s political system and made it difficult for voters to determine what individual parties and politicians truly stood for.
Adebayo noted that several politicians who contested against him in the previous election had since moved to other political platforms.
He said the trend showed that many politicians were more focused on securing political opportunities than maintaining consistent principles and policy positions.
The SDP candidate’s comments come amid growing debate among political parties over the future of petrol pricing and the economic policies that should guide the country ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
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