‘Voodoo Economist’ — Wike Slams Atiku Over Promise To Reverse Subsidy Removal

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his promise to reverse the removal of fuel subsidy.

Wike berated the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for abandoning a position he previously held on the removal of subsidy.

Wike described Atiku as a “voodoo economist” and questioned how he intended to restore the subsidy after previously describing it as fraudulent and promising to remove it if elected president.

The minister spoke on Thursday in Abuja while inspecting ongoing infrastructure projects in the FCT.

Wike recalled that Atiku said in 2022 that he would remove fuel subsidy within his first 100 days in office if elected president.

He questioned why Atiku was now proposing to reverse the policy.

“Now, in 2026, he is not going to remove the fuel subsidy. Is he going back to the fraud, which he had alleged that fuel subsidy was?” Wike asked.

He accused Atiku of changing his position to suit political circumstances and said presidential aspirants should demonstrate consistency in their policies.

He said, “Atiku, who is confused, who acts like a voodoo economist, Atiku will say anything just to be president.

“Leadership is not you coming out, you say one thing now in the morning, in the afternoon you say a different thing, in the night you are talking of a different thing. That is not it.”

Wike also questioned the feasibility of restoring fuel subsidy under the current structure of Nigeria’s petroleum industry, particularly following the commercialisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the emergence of private refineries.

He said the Petroleum Industry Act had transformed the NNPC into a commercial entity and ended its position as the sole importer or producer of petroleum products.

“He (Atiku) is living in the past. If not, he will know that with the Petroleum Industry Act, NNPC is now fully commercialised. It has transformed the old NNPC into a limited liability company (NNPC Limited), and no longer the sole importer or producer of fuel,” Wike said.

He also questioned whether an Atiku administration would subsidise petrol produced by private refineries.

“Will Atiku, as President (which he never be), pay subsidy on fuel produced by Dangote Refinery?” he asked.

Wike argued that restoring government-controlled fuel prices could reverse the market reforms introduced under the Petroleum Industry Act.

He said a return to the former subsidy regime could recreate problems associated with it, including smuggling, arbitrage and opaque fiscal practices.

Wike also challenged Atiku to explain how he would use the savings from subsidy removal if he believed the policy should remain in place.

“All I thought he would have argued, ‘Yes, I still believe in the removal of fuel subsidy, and I think that the savings made would have been utilised in this way or that way,’” Wike said.

Defending the Federal Government’s decision to remove the subsidy, Wike said the policy had increased allocations to the federal, state and local governments.

He said the Federal Government had explained how the additional revenue was distributed and urged the different tiers of government to account for how they used the funds.

Wike also said the increased revenue had enabled governments to meet salary and pension obligations, while reducing delays in payments to workers.

“Nobody talks about non-payment of pension, nobody talks about non-payment of salary. Before, for you to pay salary, you would beg and beg the banks to give you money. But all those things are things of the past,” he said.

Wike also rejected suggestions that Atiku was among the leading opposition contenders for the 2027 presidential election, saying President Tinubu remained the leading candidate.

“I disagree with you that Atiku is one of the leading candidates,” Wike told journalist adding, “You have only one leading candidate, and that’s Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.”

He said the opposition lacked the cohesion required to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC), adding that it was stronger in 2023 than it is now.

“That’s why I say that 2027 is gone. It’s gone because you don’t have an opposition that want to wrestle power from the government,” he said.