Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress candidate for Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, has pledged to restore the country’s fuel subsidy if elected, arguing the 2023 removal under President Bola Tinubu pushed pump prices to between 1,200 and 1,300 naira per liter.
Sowore made the pledge in a video, explaining how a restructured subsidy program could be designed to target ordinary Nigerian citizens rather than being applied as a blanket policy across all economic segments of the population.
The candidate argued that the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023, carried out under the administration of President Tinubu, hit low-income Nigerians hardest, driving up transport and living costs as pump prices rose sharply across the country, compounding existing economic pressures on households already struggling with inflation.
Sowore noted in the video that the federal government continues to subsidize other areas of the economy, pointing specifically to the naira exchange rate as an example of state intervention that remains in place despite the removal of the fuel subsidy.
The African Action Congress candidate framed his proposal as a corrective measure directed at protecting vulnerable Nigerians, presenting the restructured subsidy as one that would benefit ordinary citizens rather than being captured by wealthier segments of the population or by those with privileged access to the distribution system.
The pledge drew a range of reactions from Nigerians who viewed and responded to the video, with some expressing support for the idea on grounds that it would provide relief to low-income earners who bore the greatest burden from the 2023 subsidy removal.
Other respondents raised doubts about the feasibility of restoring a fuel subsidy, questioning whether such a program could be effectively structured and funded without repeating the fiscal problems that critics associated with the previous subsidy regime before 2023.
Some critics described the pledge as a student-style promise, a characterization that reflects skepticism about whether the proposal reflects a realistic and costed policy plan or functions primarily as a campaign appeal ahead of the 2027 election.
The range of reactions, from conditional support to outright skepticism, placed the subsidy question at the center of a broader public debate on the direction of Nigeria’s economic reform agenda as the country moves toward the 2027 electoral cycle.
Sowore’s position as the African Action Congress candidate places him outside the two dominant parties, and his fuel subsidy pledge separates his campaign platform from the current policy position of the Tinubu-led federal government on energy pricing.
The 2023 subsidy removal was one of the most consequential economic policy decisions of President Tinubu’s early administration, producing an immediate and sharp increase in fuel prices at pumps nationwide and generating significant public debate about its effects on ordinary Nigerians and the broader economy.
Pump prices rising to between 1,200 and 1,300 naira per liter, as cited by Sowore, represent a substantial increase from the controlled prices that Nigerians paid before the subsidy was removed, a shift that directly affected transportation costs and the price of goods.
The candidate’s argument that a subsidy can be restructured to reach its intended beneficiaries addresses a longstanding criticism of the previous subsidy system, which opponents described as inefficient and vulnerable to diversion away from ordinary consumers.
Sowore’s proposal enters a national conversation that includes competing views on whether subsidy restoration represents sound economic policy or a step backward from reforms that the Tinubu administration and its supporters argue are necessary for long-term fiscal stability.
As Nigeria’s 2027 presidential race takes shape, the fuel subsidy question, the cost of living, and the direction of economic reform are emerging as central issues, with Sowore’s pledge renewing public and political attention on energy pricing policy and the Nigerian fuel subsidy debate.
