Nigeria Was Broke, Spending 93% Revenue On Subsidy — Morka Defends Removal, Tackles Atiku On Subsidy U-Turn

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has challenged former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to explain why he now supports the return of fuel subsidy after campaigning for its removal in 2023.

APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Atiku’s proposal for a production subsidy was “opaque and inexplicable.”

Morka spoke on TVC News’ Beyond the Headlines with Nifemi Oguntoye on Wednesday.

“Now, Atiku Abubakar has since recanted his position and now is telling Nigerians he’s returning that system of fuel subsidy, which he condemned vigorously just a few years ago,” Morka said.

He argued that both Atiku and President Bola Tinubu campaigned for subsidy removal in 2023, and Tinubu implemented it after winning.

“If Atiku Abubakar has decided that his position previously was untenable, then he bears a fundamental responsibility to tell Nigerians why he held that position and why that position has changed,” he said.

Atiku and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have proposed a production subsidy — a targeted intervention in fuel production to lower pump prices — as different from the consumption subsidy abolished by Tinubu.

Morka dismissed the idea that Atiku’s shift was due to changing economic realities and challenged him to state how he would fund it.

He said removal was necessary to prevent economic collapse, noting Nigeria was spending about 93 per cent of its revenues on subsidy payments and debt servicing.

He warned that reversing the reform could undermine economic gains.