The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Wednesday criticised a proposal by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in next year’s general election to reinstate fuel subsidies if elected in 2027.
NANS in a statement declared that such a proposal amounts to a political salve rather than a viable fix for Nigeria’s fiscal strains.
National president of NANS Akinteye Babatunde, said that returning to the subsidy system without a clear structural framework would reintroduce the fiscal stresses that made the policy unsustainable.
The subsidy, once a major line item in the federal budget, consumed trillions of naira and, NANS argues, disproportionately benefited higher fuel consumers while encouraging smuggling and crowding out public investment.
“Every sane and patriotic citizen who is conversant with our nation’s economy will agree with me that the removal of the fuel subsidy was a difficult but necessary economic reform,” Akinteye said.
He stressed that the measure was intended to end a system that eroded public finances and hampered spending on essential services.
While acknowledging the immediate hardship that followed subsidy removal, Akinteye said the real measure of the reform’s success is not the headline savings but how effectively those savings are deployed to improve citizens’ lives.
“Government must ensure that the sacrifices made by Nigerians translate into tangible improvements in education, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture and other critical sectors,” he said.
NANS warned that promises to restore subsidies without addressing the underlying structural problems would recreate the same fiscal and governance challenges.
“Calls or promises for the outright return of subsidy, without a clear structural framework for addressing the fundamental weaknesses that made the policy unsustainable in the first place, amount to little more than a political response to a genuine economic challenge,” the statement said.
The student group urged voters and political hopefuls to prioritise long-term restructuring over short-term relief.
NANS challenged presidential aspirants to come to national debates with detailed economic blueprints aimed at sustainable development rather than temporary comfort.
Akinteye reiterated that NANS’s stance was nonpartisan and grounded in the organisation’s duty to scrutinise government policies.
He said Nigeria cannot afford a return to a system that allocates vast public resources to fuel subsidies while many states struggle to meet financial obligations and the nation’s infrastructure remains underfunded.
“Every aspirant willing to rule Nigeria and not run or, perhaps, ruin her must come to national debates with clear and sustainable policies that do not just address the immediate needs or comfort of our people, but rather, policies that best shape our country and can stand the test of time,” he said, urging former Vice President Atiku to reconsider his position.
