Who gains: the All Progressives Congress argues the North will benefit most from the government's decision to remove the fuel subsidy, and it is urging voters not to reverse that choice before the 2027 election.
Speaking for President Bola Tinubu at the APC Professionals Forum Policy Roundtable, National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda described abolition of the subsidy as a difficult but necessary step that let the administration correct fiscal imbalances after Tinubu assumed office on 29 May 2023. He pointed to a rise in gross external reserves to about $52.7 billion by August 2026 and said consolidated non-oil revenue increased from roughly ₦13.63 trillion in 2023 to ₦16.4 trillion in the first two quarters of 2026.
Yilwatda tied those numbers to stronger trade and growth, noting a swing in the merchandise trade position from a surplus of about ₦44.8 billion for 2023 to roughly ₦7.54 trillion in the first quarter of 2026. He highlighted real GDP growth of 4.43 percent in the second quarter of 2026 and an easing of inflation to about 15.4 percent, arguing these indicators support the administration’s $1 trillion economy target by 2030.
He described planned transport and logistics investments linking Lagos, Ondo, Ibom, Port Harcourt and Calabar, and cited rail and road corridors such as Lagos-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano as projects unlocked by the recovered fiscal room. On regional winners he said, "the biggest beneficiaries of this economy will be the Northern part of Nigeria, because they will now be trading with countries, trading with Niger, trading with Chad, trading with Burkina Faso, trading with Southern Sudan, trading with Northern Cameroon, trading with Central African Republic… The North is the next business destination of Nigeria."
Dr Isa Yuguda, chairman of the APC Professionals Forum Board of Trustees and head of the 2009 Fuel Subsidy Task Force, backed the policy. He said his committee had "examined the subsidy regime and uncovered serious irregularities, fraudulent practices, and financial leakages that placed a huge burden on the Nigerian economy." Yuguda described the abolition as "a difficult but necessary reform intended to redirect national resources towards long-term development," and credited President Tinubu with showing political courage to carry it out, with over ₦15 trillion reportedly saved.
Yuguda warned that returning to the old subsidy model would risk undoing the fiscal space now underwriting national investments. He noted Nigeria "continues to confront serious security challenges arising partly from instability in some neighbouring countries, porous borders, and the cross-border movement of armed groups and criminal networks into Nigerian territory," and called for stronger border security, improved intelligence and regional cooperation to protect gains.
On the campaign trail this becomes a clear choice for APC strategists. Asked what voters should expect, Yilwatda offered a programmatic contrast: "For the All Progressives Congress, the answer is clear. We choose progress, productivity, investment, infrastructure, innovation, Nigerian enterprise, exports, human capital, and we choose President Bola Ahmed Tinubu." The party positioned the subsidy decision as central to its economic pitch ahead of 2027, framing any move to restore subsidies as a policy reversal that would erase the fiscal gains it says underpin current development plans.
