‘We Won’t Go Back to Egypt’ — Showunmi rejects Atiku’s petrol subsidy proposal

The Chief Promoter of the Alternative Movement, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.

Showunmi argued that Nigeria had operated subsidy regimes for decades without achieving the desired economic outcomes, insisting that the country should not return to what he described as the mistakes of the past.

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has proposed restoring petrol subsidy, arguing that Nigerians should benefit more directly from the country’s natural resources and that subsidy removal has worsened the cost of living.

But Showunmi rejected the proposal while speaking in Abeokuta during a sensitisation and mobilisation programme organised in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

“We have tried subsidies in this country. We started starting it from 1973. And between 1973 and date, we have seen the result. If it had worked, wouldn’t we have seen it?” Showunmi asked.

He also pointed to the challenges surrounding the country’s refineries, contrasting the situation with the emergence of privately owned refining capacity.

“We have seen that nothing has worked. They couldn’t even repair a refinery for so many years. And one private sector person has run a refinery,” he said.

Showunmi described those advocating a return to petrol subsidy as overly ambitious and declared that Nigeria should maintain its current economic direction.

“Forward ever, backward never,” he said.

He said he had spent the past year publicly defending the economic policies and direction of the Tinubu administration, which he described as the right path for the country.

“If you have been following me, and I know you have, for the past one year, I have been screaming and shouting that the economic direction, the policy ideas, and the things that the President Bola Tinubu is doing, is the right direction for the country,” Showunmi said.

He further claimed that government revenues had improved across the three tiers of government.

“Now you have gotten to the point where there’s money in the local government, there’s money in the state, there’s money in the federal,” he stated.

The political activist also advocated continuity in governance, arguing that major economic policies require sufficient time to produce results.

“We cannot be changing leadership every four years. Democracy is very difficult, and the ability to be able to even run policy requires a bit of time,” he said.

Showunmi said he had already commenced grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 presidential election, including organising supporters at the polling-unit level.

“I’ve empowered them, I’ve told them to enter the polling unit and start the polling unit work,” he said.

He added that the mobilisation exercise would subsequently be extended to the six local government areas in Ogun Central.

“Thereafter, I’m going to go to each of the six local governments in Ogun Central,” he said.

Emphasising his approach to politics, Showunmi said his campaign would focus on direct grassroots engagement rather than relying solely on social media and television appearances.

“We are not social media politicians. We are not television politicians. I am a grassroots politician through and through,” he stated.

He also dismissed concerns about growing opposition to Tinubu among politicians in the South, particularly those from the South-West.

“You will never see the moon and the star come out when the sun is out,” Showunmi said.

“Anybody, especially from Yoruba nation, who is calling himself anything, when the sun is out, is wasting the time,” he added.

Showunmi further criticised politicians seeking to challenge Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, saying those who believe they can defeat the incumbent are, in his view, misjudging the political landscape.

“Anyone who says he is going to be running up and down television, deceiving himself, wasting the little resources he has, claiming that he can win presidency here, he is a joker,” he said.

“This election is Bola Tinubu’s election to win.”

Showunmi also appealed to voters in the South-West, particularly the Yoruba electorate, to support Tinubu, warning against a situation where the North records higher votes for the President than the South-West.

“I have come home to beg the Yoruba people that you will not be ashamed,” he said.

“Because when the election is over, and the people of North-East, and the people of North-West, and the people of North-Central produce more votes than you, then where will you put your face? Therefore, it is time to work now. We are back to 2003.”

His comments come as political parties and support groups intensify mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general election, with competing camps putting forward different positions on economic policy, including the future of petrol subsidy.

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