Sheikh Ahmad Gumi reacts as Atiku promises to restore petrol subsidy if elected President in 2027

In a recent interview reported by The Nation, Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, spoke about his controversial negotiations with bandits, his experiences during visits to their camps, the Nigerian economy, President Bola Tinubu’s reforms and the 2027 general elections.

When asked whether former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s promise to restore petrol subsidy if elected President was realistic, Gumi said he had previously written extensively about fuel subsidies from the perspective of an ordinary citizen before studying the issue more closely.

He said, “Subsidies exist in different parts of the world. Governments support essential goods and services when they believe doing so is necessary. The problem in Nigeria is that we have not sufficiently addressed corruption and the diversion of public resources. If you reopen the subsidy system without first tackling corruption, you may simply create another opportunity for the diversion of public funds.”

He argued that there was nothing wrong with removing fuel subsidies and increasing social spending to cushion the effects on vulnerable citizens. However, he maintained that removing subsidies without adequately compensating the poor through social intervention programmes would worsen their hardship.

He also warned that restoring fuel subsidies without tackling endemic corruption would amount to wasting public funds.

Gumi questioned whether Nigeria had developed the institutional discipline required to operate a transparent subsidy system, saying he did not believe the country had attained that level of accountability.

He noted that Nigerians had lost confidence in public institutions even without the subsidy regime, stressing the need for a moral reset in the country.

Citing the state of the healthcare sector, he lamented that hospitals, which were expected to represent the highest standards of compassion and care, had become places where people struggled to access basic medical supplies and treatment. He questioned the state of other public institutions if hospitals were already experiencing such challenges.

NewsCountry feedback-opera-news-app@opera.com