Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his promise to restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027, describing the former presidential candidate as an inconsistent politician.

Wike spoke on Thursday in Abuja during an inspection of ongoing infrastructure projects in the FCT, where he defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove fuel subsidy and questioned Atiku’s changing position on the policy.

The minister recalled that Atiku had said in 2022 that he would remove fuel subsidy within his first 100 days in office if elected president. He therefore questioned why the former vice-president was now promising to restore the subsidy.

“Now, in 2026, he is not going to remove the fuel subsidy. Is he going back to the fraud, which he had alleged that fuel subsidy was?” Wike asked.

He described Atiku as a “voodoo economist”, accusing him of changing his position in an attempt to appeal to voters.

“Atiku, who is confused, who acts like a voodoo economist, Atiku will say anything just to be president,” he said.

According to Wike, anyone seeking the presidency must demonstrate consistency in policy and leadership rather than changing positions according to prevailing political circumstances.

“Leadership is not you coming out, you say one thing now in the morning, in the afternoon you say a different thing, in the night you are talking of a different thing. That is not it,” he said.

Wike also questioned how Atiku would implement a fuel subsidy regime under the current structure of Nigeria’s petroleum industry, particularly following the commercialisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the emergence of the Dangote Refinery.

He argued that the Petroleum Industry Act had transformed the former NNPC into a limited liability company and ended its position as the country’s sole importer or producer of petroleum products.

“He is living in the past. If not, he will know that with the Petroleum Industry Act, NNPC is now fully commercialised. It has transformed the old NNPC into a limited liability company (NNPC Limited), and no longer the sole importer or producer of fuel,” Wike said.

He further asked whether an Atiku administration would pay subsidy on fuel produced by the Dangote Refinery.

“Will Atiku, as President—which he never be—pay subsidy on fuel produced by Dangote Refinery?” he asked.

Wike argued that restoring subsidy would also contradict the direction established by the Petroleum Industry Act, which seeks to create a commercially driven and competitive petroleum market.

He said a return to government-controlled fuel prices could create regulatory uncertainty, weaken investor confidence and reintroduce distortions that Nigeria had spent years attempting to eliminate.

According to the minister, fuel subsidies had historically encouraged smuggling, arbitrage, inefficiency and opaque fiscal practices, while reducing revenues available to the Federation Account. He added that artificially low domestic prices could also result in Nigerians effectively subsidising fuel consumption outside the country through cross-border smuggling.

Wike said Atiku should instead explain how he intended to deploy the savings from subsidy removal if he believed the policy should continue.

“All I thought he would have argued, ‘Yes, I still believe in the removal of fuel subsidy, and I think that the savings made would have been utilised in this way or that way,’” he said.

The FCT minister defended Tinubu’s subsidy removal policy, saying the resulting increase in government revenues had translated into higher allocations to the federal, state and local governments.

He challenged the various tiers of government to account for how they had deployed the additional funds received since the removal of the subsidy.

Wike also claimed that the policy had eased the pressure on state governments to meet salary and pension obligations.

“Nobody talks about non-payment of pension, nobody talks about non-payment of salary. Before, for you to pay salary, you would beg and beg the banks to give you money. But all those things are things of the past,” he said.

Wike: Tinubu remains leading 2027 candidate

The minister also rejected the suggestion that Atiku was among the leading opposition contenders ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

“I disagree with you that Atiku is one of the leading candidates,” Wike told journalists. “You have only one leading candidate, and that’s Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.”

He argued that the opposition was not sufficiently united to mount a serious challenge against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that the opposition was stronger in 2023 than it is currently.

“That’s why I say that 2027 is gone. It’s gone because you don’t have an opposition that want to wrestle power from the government,” he said.

Wike dismisses Abuja robbery concerns

Wike also dismissed reports suggesting that armed robbery incidents had increased in Abuja, saying available security reports did not support the claim.

While acknowledging that isolated criminal incidents had occurred, he maintained that security agencies were responding to them.

“I disagree with you that there are more armed robbery cases,” he said, urging journalists and residents to exercise caution when reporting security developments.

The minister disclosed that the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracked an individual allegedly impersonating security personnel and using fake materials to harass residents.

“I’m not saying there are no one or two incidents of crime, but to say the armed robbery has increased in Abuja, I don’t agree,” Wike said.

He added that genuine increases in armed robbery would ordinarily be reflected in security reports submitted by the relevant agencies.

FCT projects

Speaking on the infrastructure projects inspected during the visit, Wike expressed satisfaction with the progress of work and said several major projects were expected to be completed before the end of the year.

He described one of the projects as a major intervention capable of transforming parts of the capital city and commended the contractors for the progress recorded.

Wike said construction around the Mpape bypass and Garki axis had also helped reclaim land previously affected by a gully.

“We are satisfied with what we have seen. We’re very impressed that the promises made to our people are being fulfilled. Again, it’s what the whole agenda is all about,” he said.

Wike distances himself from Area Council performance

The minister also declined to accept responsibility for complaints about the performance of some Area Council chairmen in the FCT.

He said the chairmen were elected by residents of their respective councils and should therefore be held accountable by the people who elected them.

“They are the people who elected them. They should ask them. I am not their—I did not appoint them, they were elected,” Wike said.

He, however, acknowledged that some councils could improve their performance, noting that he had previously served as a council chairman and understood the challenges involved.

“I was one-time a council chairman,” he said, adding that it would be unfair to conclude that the Area Council administrations were doing nothing.