Obi: Tinubu Removed Subsidy, Borrowed More Money, Yet No Gain Is Seen

* NDC presidential candidate vows to redirect subsidy savings to agriculture, SMEs, jobs

**** Promises decisive war against insecurity, rejects ransom payments ***

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, has criticised the Federal Government’s management of the savings from petrol subsidy removal, saying Nigerians have been impoverished despite the huge resources released by the policy.

Obi, who spoke during an exclusive interview on Arise News on Thursday as part of its presidential series, said the subsidy regime had been riddled with corruption and criminality.

He insisted that the problem was not necessarily the removal of subsidy but the failure to deploy the resulting savings productively.

According to him, the Federal Government itself disclosed that the removal of subsidy generated about N15.8 trillion, a figure he said informed his repeated reference to approximately N16 trillion.

Obi said: “The subsidy regime in Nigeria was enmeshed with corruption and criminality. I have said it clearly that I will remove subsidy and fight that corruption and criminality.

“It is only when you remove it that you will know exactly whether we have subsidy or not. I believe that if you remove corruption, there might not be subsidy. That’s my belief.

“I believe that the price of petroleum products today is high. We are an oil-producing country, which means that if we can do regular supply of crude to our local refineries, working with them competitively to refine for domestic consumption, the prices can come down.”

Obi said subsidy should instead be deployed strategically in productive sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture and small businesses, arguing that Nigeria must move from consumption to production.

“There are things you give subsidies for. I’ll give you an example. This is why I always compare countries. When I do, people say, ‘Oh, it’s another country’. We only go to school to learn. You go to those who have done it well to learn.

“If you go to Indonesia today, the interest rate is about 15 per cent. But interest rate to SMEs, small businesses, is between three and five per cent. Maximum of six per cent.

“That’s subsidy. You’re giving it to where it is productive, not where it’s not productive.

“We’re going to make sure that we do the right thing that will make the country productive and create wealth, opportunities and employment, a win-win.

“But what we’re having today is that we’ve impoverished ourselves because we removed subsidy and no gain is seen. Because the money we say we have borrowed, we borrowed more,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor also defended his claim about the N16 trillion savings, saying the figure was derived from government disclosures.

“It’s actually the government who said that the subsidy they removed produced N15.8 trillion. Can you look at that and show the effect of this?” he asked.

Obi argued that the resources could have been deployed to address critical deficiencies in healthcare and other social sectors, citing cancer treatment as an example.

“When I talk about waste, people say, ‘Ah, we have a problem now with the issue of explosion in cancer.’ People are dying of cancer. To do a cancer centre will cost you about N4 billion to N5 billion.

“We have less than 10 cancer centres. And to add just 25, you need to spend about N100 billion. That’s what our president used to buy a plane. A jet. And we saved N16 trillion,” he said.

Addressing the contentious debate over subsidy restoration, particularly former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s promise to restore the subsidy, Obi said his approach would be fundamentally different.

While maintaining that he would not restore the subsidy regime, he said the north would benefit from targeted government investment in agriculture, education, healthcare, skills and manufacturing.

“If there’s one president in the north who celebrates, it’s me,” Obi declared.

“I know the problems in the northern part. I will deal with the issue of poverty the way it has not been dealt with before, and in a non-corrupt way, where they will see it.

“The north has an asset. Nobody in this country, none of us, none of the areas—can say they have what the north has. I will deal with that asset, and that asset is agriculture.

“We’ll invest in it. We’ll give the subsidy in it. We will ensure that it will take all those poor people, almajiris, back to education. Support them in different areas.

“We will make sure we invest in health, in skills, and support them. I’ll make sure that I bring back all those manufacturing activities that have been lost.

“Today, if you go to Kano, there are factories that are gone. I will deal with the north in such a way that they will see it.

“And this fuel you’re talking about, we will moderate the price all over Nigeria. It’s not only affecting them,” he said.

Assessing the administration of President Bola Tinubu, Obi said the government had failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians, describing its leadership and expenditure as reckless.

“I think you should ask the people. But if you ask me, they’ve not done well. They’ve been a bit reckless in what they’re doing,” he said.

Asked whether he believed President Tinubu was in charge of government, Obi replied: “At times, I believe he’s not in charge.”

He explained that effective leadership required the president to be directly accountable to citizens.

Obi said: “Because if he’s in charge, he will even be explaining to the people. That’s what I’m talking about which is capacity. I will be in charge.

“Nobody, all decisions you see, the president is talking. Nobody will talk for Peter. Because I’m the one that’s elected. I’ll be answerable to the people. And for every penny, I’ll be answerable to the people.”

Obi also promised to halt what he described as unnecessary government construction until existing infrastructure, particularly schools and roads, had been fixed.

“We’re not going to start building new extensions for the president, or for the wife, or for anybody. No. We will fix what is existing,” he said.

He further criticised presidential spending outside Nigeria, promising that, if elected, he would spend his vacations within the country.

According to him, “The Nigerian President must spend his vacation in Nigeria. We cannot continue with this nonsense.

“As president of Nigeria, I’ll visit other countries, but I’ll not take my holidays in other countries. The holiday is here. I won’t stay in Abuja when 600 people are kidnapped.”

On insecurity, Obi promised to take personal charge of the nation’s security architecture as Commander-in-Chief, saying he would not operate from Abuja while Nigerians were being attacked elsewhere.

“The president. And he will take it personally. Because in the first place, today it is the most important thing to Nigerians. They want to see a secure country.

“Insecurity today is making it impossible for farmers to go to the farm. It’s making it impossible for produce to be moved around.

“It’s making it impossible for manufacturers to move their goods. It is making it impossible even for human movement. So you need to deal with it decisively,” Obi said.

He said his first steps in office would include appointing competent security chiefs and giving them clear instructions to end insecurity.

“In the first week, it’s for me to appoint competent heads of security agencies with a decisive instruction: We must deal with this. Tell me what will stop us from achieving this.

“And I will commence immediate consultation with stakeholders in different areas of Nigeria on how to deal with it.

“I’m going to move, not just appointing them; we’re going to move to the critical areas. I’m not going to sit in Abuja if there’s a problem in Zamfara.

“We’ll call the people in Zamfara and see what this problem is, and deal with it decisively. And I’m not going to do it from Abuja; I’m going to visit Zamfara,” Obi stated.

Asked whether he supported state police, Obi answered in the affirmative, saying: “We will do whatever it takes to secure the country.”

He, however, rejected ransom payment as a strategy for dealing with kidnapping.

“No,” he said when asked if he believed in ransom payment.

He argued that modern surveillance technology should enable security agencies to locate criminals and rescue victims.

“In today’s world, through satellite, you can know where people are.

“So the government of the day, they’re sleeping right now. That’s what you’re saying.

“Today, the government knows where I am. All those equipment they’re using to focus on opponents, should be focused on criminals?

“I’m not going to follow any opponents. I don’t care where they are. I don’t care what they do. It’s not my business. I’m going to focus it where it is,” Obi stated.

He added: “I’ll take decisive action. There might be casualties. It doesn’t matter who that is. But we will deal with it decisively.

“I’m not going to stay in Abuja when 600 people are kidnapped and in the bush. And that bush is in Nigeria.

“That bush, people will enter. Our forces will enter it,” he stated.

Obi also made a commitment to concede defeat in the 2027 presidential election if the process is free, fair and credible, even as he maintained his position that he won the 2023 election.

“If the election is free, fair and credible, I will. That’s it. Because it’s an election.

“I’m not the one that will say who they want to serve. And I will respect the will of the people. That’s democracy.”

Asked why he did not concede in 2023, Obi replied: “I did. And I maintain it. As long as I live, I will maintain that I won the 2023 presidential election. Because they know. Those who conducted the election know the records. They know why there was a glitch. They know what happened and everything.

“But I said I’ll leave it to the past.”

On the clamour for power rotation, Obi rejected what he described as a ‘turn-by-turn’ approach to the presidency, arguing that competence rather than ethnicity or religion should determine who governs Nigeria.

“Our elections should not be driven by tribe or religion. Today, in terms of qualification, I’m qualified to be president of Nigeria. I have the competence,” he said.

Obi also rejected the argument that he lacked the experience required for the presidency, listing institutions where he said he had received training.

He said: “I’ve been to the best schools all over the world, from Oxford to Cambridge to Harvard to Columbia to Kellogg to IMD. I’ve been everywhere in terms of education.

“And every certificate I’ve shown you is the way it is. If you find anyone wrong, I withdraw from the race.”

He also questioned why younger Nigerians had continued to be told that they were “leaders of tomorrow” when, according to him, political leadership had remained dominated by older generations.

“Can you believe that since 1960, nobody born after 1960 has been President of Nigeria? This is the 66th year of independence.

“And they tell young people, ‘You’ll be leaders of tomorrow.’ When some people don’t want to give them them the chance. No, let’s get moving.

“I can change this country, and I’m committed to it. And people will see it. They will feel it.”

On his one-term presidency pledge and commitment to hand over power after four years, Obi said: “I will not stay a day longer.

“You don’t need 100 years to start a journey in the right direction. Nigeria is headed in the wrong direction today. I just need to reverse it and head it in the right direction.

“In four years, people will see the difference.”

He also promised a more physically present presidency, saying he would visit states and communities rather than govern from Abuja.

“I want a president that can come out and move around and see the ordinary people of Nigeria,” Obi said.

“I’ve visited 180 communities in Anambra State. There’s no community I did not physically visit as governor.

“I might not be all over Nigeria, but I can tell you, I will visit every state at least once a year.”