Obi: I Would Have Removed Fuel Subsidy, Floated Naira in More Organised Manner

•Demands accountability on money saved from subsidy removal 

•Says tackling insecurity more important than Lagos-Calabar coastal road 

•Obidient movement set to launch book in Abuja

ChuksOkochain Abuja and Sunday EhigiatorandFunminOgundare in Lagos

The presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has restated his position on the removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the naira, criticising the current administration for what he described as a haphazard and poorly managed implementation of the twin policies linked to increased economic hardship for citizens, particularly vulnerable groups.

In a recent interview with ARISE NEWS Channel yesterday, Obi addressed growing concerns and criticisms surrounding his economic stance and opposition role, clarifying what he meant by his “organised manner” to policy reform—particularly in comparison to President Bola Tinubu’s methods.

According to Obi, “I have consistently maintained that I would have removed the fuel subsidy,” Obi said, pointing to his campaign manifesto.

“If you go to my manifesto, it’s there. Steps I would have taken to do it in an organised manner. There was nothing wrong with the removal of fuel subsidy. What is wrong is the haphazard way in which it was announced and implemented. Everybody knows that the subsidy regime was a solution to criminality. There was a lot of corruption, which they needed to get out. But do it in an organised manner.”

He added, “And since you’re doing it for savings, we were told we’re doing it because we don’t want to continue to borrow, to continue the subsidy. And the removal of it will be able to have available funds to be invested in critical areas of development. With all these things, billions saved, where is it? Where is it invested in those critical areas of development?”

The former Anambra State Governor, who has maintained a strong base through his Obidient Movement despite factional rifts within the Labour Party, also weighed in on the controversial floating of the naira.

“There’s nothing wrong with floating your currency. There’s nothing wrong with even devaluing your currency. But you do this when you have productivity. What devaluation or floating does is that your currency becomes, in terms of value, low.

‘’You attract investment. Your products become more marketable. But where we are unproductive, you have nothing to sell. So it’s a double whammy. So in all this, I would have done the same thing in an organised manner.”

Pressed on how he would have managed both subsidy removal and currency floatation differently, Obi insisted on planning, transparency and gradual implementation.

“For subsidy, remove the criminality that’s associated with it, which is over 50 percent of it. Be able to sit down with the operators there and come up with a pricing that will be agreed. And then, whatever we’re able to save from it, we have a specific place we’re investing it.

“We will need to have a national plan where all the resources will be put in. It is not just something you say, ‘oh, we are sharing it the way we used to share every other money.’

“No, because that’s not what you said. You said we will be able to put it in critical areas of development. That was your promise. So we’ve removed it.

“People want to see where these funds are invested. It’s a very clear thing. We’re not the only country who’s done that before. Countries after countries go with national plan.”

Commenting further on what he would have done before floating the naira, Obi further emphasised that he would have boosted local production before taking such monetary steps. “I would have focused on making sure that we ramp up production, the agriculture, the manufacturing, and everything, and do it gradually,” he stressed.

Obi also criticised the Tinubu administration’s focus on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, arguing that such large-scale infrastructure projects should not take precedence over addressing Nigeria’s insecurity and economic fragility.

Obi questioned whether it was logical to commit vast resources to the several infrastructural projects that will “lead nowhere when we have crisis.”

 “Are you saying that the coastal road is more important than securing Nigeria?” he asked.

Obi stressed that security and production are the foundations of any functional economy. Without securing the country, he said, even the most ambitious infrastructure would amount to a misplaced priority.

He said, “The roads we have all over the country are no more durable. You fix those roads first and use your resources to secure your country. Security is far more fundamental than that road. If you say our problem is insecurity, they can’t go to the farm, our problem is power, let’s deal with those things.

“We are a government. We must secure our people, and it requires decisive action,” he added.

Drawing on his tenure as Anambra State governor, Obi argued that the military, police, and other security agencies must be empowered to act decisively, adding that Nigeria must treat its internal threats with the seriousness of a wartime situation.

“If we were in a war, we would declare a state of war… whatever it takes to secure the country, I would do it.”, Obi stressed

He alleged that the crisis within the Labour Party was the handiwork of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Also, Obi said the only reason some critics claim he didn’t do well as a governor was because he wasn’t in the media to advertise himself.

Obi specifically stated that some individuals attack him because of his concern about giving out money that belongs to the public.

He also demanded accountability for the funds saved from the removal of fuel subsidy, while clarifying issues around the inclusion of his name in the Pandora report.

Speaking on the Pandora Report, he said: “I have a legitimate trust, allowed by law, for inheritance planning purposes. This trust is documented and has been in existence since the 90s, over a decade before I became governor in 2006.

“The trust was funded by resources earned from my company, Next International Limited, a subsidiary of Next International Nigeria. This was duly declared.

“When the Pandora Papers were released, it was reported that I had $100 to $500 million in various accounts. I challenged anyone to find even three per cent of the claimed amount, and if they do, I would accept life imprisonment.

“I declared my assets when I became governor, including Naira and foreign currency savings. At the time, the exchange rate was around N100 to $1. My savings were around $15 million. It’s absurd to suggest that I stole and hoarded such a large amount of money. The allegations are disproportionate and unfounded.”

Meanwhile, Obi, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State and the Acting National Chairman of a faction of Labour Party, Senator NenadiUsman, are leading the team of party faithful in a rebirth event of the Obidient Movement in Abuja, today.

A statement from the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) confirmed that their principal was expected to be the Special Guest at the occasion alongside Otti and other top-notchers of the Obidient Movement.

A renowned legal intellectual, Prof. Sam Amadi is expected to provoke conversation in a keynote speech on, ‘the Inevitability of a New Nigeria,’ with other notable speakers at the occasion including the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Dr. YunusaTanko.

The highlights of the event themed, ‘the Renaissance of the Obidient Movement’ will be the presentation of a book titled: ‘Obi: The Political Change Agent,’ authored by a veteran journalist, the former Group Political Editor of THISDAY Newspapers and Pioneer Deputy Managing Director of the New Telegraph Newspaper Mr Ike Abonyi.

The foreword to the book was written by the impassioned legal mind and a fervent Obidient, Dele Farotomi.

An esteemed diplomat and former Campaign Manager of Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council Mr. Oseloka.H.Obaze is going to review the book

The ceremony, which is drawing Obidient Movement adherents from across the country, would be held at the Nigerian Air Force Centre in Kado area of Abuja.