Forward Ever, Backward Never” — Showunmi Rejects Atiku’s Petrol Subsidy Plan

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.

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has maintained that he would restore petrol subsidy, arguing that Nigerians should benefit from the country’s resources and that the removal of the subsidy has worsened living conditions.

Speaking in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during a sensitisation and mobilisation programme in support of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, Showunmi rejected the proposal, arguing that Nigeria had operated subsidy regimes for decades without achieving the desired results.

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

He also cited the prolonged challenges surrounding the country’s refineries, contrasting them with the emergence of privately operated refining capacity.

Showunmi described calls for a return to petrol subsidy as overly ambitious and insisted that Nigeria should not return to what he characterised as past policy failures.

“Forward ever, backward never,” he said.

Showunmi also defended the economic direction of the Tinubu administration, saying he had spent the past year advocating for its policies.

“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,” he said.

He further claimed that government revenues had improved across the federal, state and local government levels.

According to Showunmi, continuity in government is important for economic policies to produce results, arguing that frequent changes in leadership could disrupt the implementation of long-term programmes.

“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 also disclosed that he had commenced grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 election, including efforts at the polling-unit level. He said the mobilisation would subsequently extend to the six local government areas in Ogun Central.

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

Speaking about other politicians positioning themselves against Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election, Showunmi dismissed their prospects and urged Yoruba voters to support the President.

He also called on voters in the South-West to mobilise ahead of the election, arguing that the region should play a significant role in determining the outcome.

The comments come amid renewed political debate over petrol pricing and subsidy policy ahead of the 2027 general election, with Atiku maintaining his proposal to restore the subsidy while the Tinubu administration has continued to defend the removal of the policy.