Obi’s fuel subsidy stance shifts as past statements contradict new position

Former Labour Party presidential candidate and National Democratic Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, Peter Obi, has come under scrutiny over his recent position on fuel subsidy, with his latest comments appearing to contradict his earlier calls for its complete removal.

Obi made the latest remarks during an interview with BBC Pidgin. During the interview, the interviewer challenged Obi over what appeared to be a change in his position on fuel subsidy and questioned how Nigerians could trust him if his current position differed from what he said during the 2023 presidential campaign.

Responding, Obi denied changing his position, insisting that his position had remained consistent.

“I go remove the corruption and retain subsidy… go check all my tapes from day one,” he said.

However, a review of Obi’s documented public statements shows that he previously advocated the complete removal of fuel subsidy, describing the system as an “organised crime.”

In June 2023, shortly after the removal of the subsidy by the Tinubu government, Obi said he had consistently supported its removal. Speaking on the issue, he said, “I have consistently maintained that we need to remove subsidy because for me is organised crime.”

Obi also stated in a June 6, 2023, post on X that he had supported the removal of fuel subsidy since his time on former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Economic Management Team, “I consistently maintained that subsidy should be removed because I see it as organised crime,” he wrote.

His position appeared unchanged as recently as August 2026. According to a report by Arise News, Obi, while discussing the management of the proceeds from subsidy removal, backed the policy and argued that the mismanagement of the funds was not enough reason to reverse it.

He maintained that the removal of the subsidy remained necessary, while criticising how the proceeds were being managed. However, Obi’s position appeared to change in September 2026 when he began advocating the restoration or retention of subsidy after tackling corruption and leakages within the system.

At a town hall meeting in Sokoto, according to Arbiterz, Obi said his administration would bring back the subsidy after addressing leakages and corruption. The position is similar to the one he reiterated in his October 6 BBC Pidgin interview, where he distinguished between removing corruption associated with the subsidy regime and retaining the subsidy itself.

The development has therefore raised questions over Obi’s claim that he has not changed his position. His earlier statements explicitly described fuel subsidy as an “organised crime” and called for its removal, while his more recent position is that corruption should be eliminated and the subsidy retained or restored.

The contrast has led fact-checkers to rate Obi’s claim that he has been consistent on the issue as misleading.

While Obi’s current argument focuses on preventing corruption and ensuring Nigerians benefit from government intervention on fuel prices, his documented statements from 2023 and August 2026 show that he previously supported the removal of the subsidy itself.

Consequently, his assertion that Nigerians should “go check all my tapes from day one” does not align with his earlier public declarations calling for the complete removal of fuel subsidy.