Abuja: Dr. Chike Okogwu, a National Leader of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has expressed his support for former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to reinstate the fuel subsidy if he is elected president. Okogwu emphasized the importance of addressing the past system’s shortcomings in any new subsidy initiative.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Okogwu, who previously served on the Federal Government’s Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), highlighted the need for a transparent and targeted subsidy system backed by digital monitoring tools. Drawing from his experience representing Persons with Disabilities on the SURE-P Board from 2012 to 2015, Okogwu noted that the program, created after the 2012 fuel subsidy reforms, was designed to direct savings towards infrastructure and social programs such as transportation, healthcare, and employment.
Okogwu cited successful SURE-P projects like the Second Niger Bridge and Loko-Oweto Bridge while acknowledging areas for improvement. He stressed differentiating the Federal Government’s role in SURE-P from state and local operations and suggested leveraging Nigeria’s digital financial infrastructure for better monitoring if subsidies are reintroduced. He proposed using the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and other identification systems to verify beneficiaries for direct support and recommended tracking petroleum products digitally from refineries to filling stations.
The rising fuel prices’ impact on sectors like transportation, food production, and agriculture was noted by Okogwu, who urged policymakers to prioritize vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, the elderly, widows, and low-income households. He advocated for enhancing domestic refining to decrease reliance on imported petroleum products and supported a controlled reopening of Nigeria’s land borders to boost legitimate trade while reducing smuggling.
Lastly, Okogwu called for periodic reviews of subsidy programs to assess their economic and social relevance, emphasizing the importance of linking public expenditure to measurable outcomes. He concluded that the success of future subsidy policies should be gauged by their effect on living costs and the welfare of Nigerians.