AS the debate on fuel subsidy removal hots up the president candidate of National Democratic Congress (NDC) has disagreed with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on his proposed subsidy return.

Last week, Atiku who is the flag bearer of Action Democratic Congress (ADC) , proposed a return of fuel subsidy if elected in 2027,accusing the federal government of mismanagement that has seen transportation and food prices rise and impoverish many Nigerians.

Obi who maintained his stance as reflected during 2023 campaign also accused the federal government of mismanaging the savings from the proceeds of fuel subsidy removal.

The ex-governor of Anambra State spoke on Monday at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while reacting to the debate over whether fuel subsidy should be restored as proposed by Atiku.

Atiku, who campaigned for the removal of fuel subsidy during the 2023 presidential election, has said he would restore the policy if elected president in 2027.

But Obi maintained that subsidy removal remained necessary, arguing that the problem was the failure to properly manage and invest the resources saved from the policy.

“I subscribe and I maintain that we need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” Obi said.

He argued that the government should have provided alternatives to cushion the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians while ensuring that the savings were deployed to productive sectors.

“What we should have done is that when we removed it, we should have given the people alternative usage for the subsidy,” he said.

According to Obi, the resources recovered from subsidy removal have not been adequately managed, alleging that they were also being “mismanaged and stolen.”

“What we have today is that that removal and the attendant resources being recovered is also being mismanaged and stolen,” he said.

The former governor said he had anticipated the need for a structured approach to subsidy removal and had outlined his position in his manifesto ahead of the 2023 election.

“Go to my manifesto, I said it before, I said I will do it in an organised manner and whatever we recover would be invested appropriately,” Obi said.

President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy on his inauguration day in May 2023, triggering a sharp increase in petrol prices and widespread concerns over the rising cost of living.

While the policy has been defended by the Federal Government as necessary to reduce fiscal pressure and redirect public resources, opposition figures have continued to criticise its implementation and the use of the resulting savings.