Atiku Warns Tinubu Against Removing Electricity Subsidy In 2027: Don’t Repeat Petrol Mistake

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned President Bola Tinubu against the planned phase-out of electricity subsidies from 2027, saying households, small businesses and manufacturers are already struggling with high electricity, diesel and alternative power costs.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Atiku said the Federal Government must not repeat the mistake of petrol subsidy removal with electricity.

“The lesson of petrol must not be repeated with electricity. Do not remove first and think later. Do not impose the pain first and search for palliatives afterwards,” he said.

Atiku, the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress [ADC], said when energy becomes unaffordable, everything becomes unaffordable.

“When government makes energy expensive, it makes life expensive. This is no longer an argument between economists. It is the daily reality of millions of Nigerians,” he said.

He recalled that when petrol subsidy was removed in May 2023 without adequate protection, the burden travelled from the petrol station to the bus stop, to the market and to family dining tables.

According to him, manufacturers are already warning that power-related expenses now consume more than half of operating costs, while families can no longer afford basic necessities.

He criticised reliance on palliatives to cushion subsidy removal.

“Palliatives manage pain. Good policy addresses the source of the pain. Do not make life unbearable and then distribute bags of rice as evidence of compassion,” he said.

Atiku urged Tinubu to use his remaining eight months in office to give Nigerians relief and to suspend any plan to make electricity more expensive.

“If the government receives more naira while the citizen’s naira buys less electricity, less fuel, less food and less transportation, then bigger government revenues mean little to the family struggling to survive,” he said.