News
I’ll Make Major Roads a National Priority If Elected – Atiku
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has pledged to make the rehabilitation and maintenance of Nigeria’s major economic road corridors a national priority if elected in the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku made the commitment in a response to a message from one Hassan Yakubu, who urged him to make the state of Nigeria’s deteriorating roads a major issue in his campaign.
Yakubu, drawing from his experience transporting goods across the country, listed several major routes, including Numan-Jalingo, Dukku-Darazo, Dikko-Minna, Pambegua-Zaria, Akwanga-Jos, Abuja-Lokoja, Bida-Lapai, Kontagora-Makera, East-West Road, Onitsha-Owerri, Abeokuta-Ibadan, Benin-Ore and Benin-Auchi.
He argued that the roads serve as critical links between farms, markets, factories and consumers, warning that their poor condition was increasing transport costs and contributing to higher prices of goods.
Responding, Atiku said he understood the impact of deteriorating infrastructure, noting that he had personally travelled on some of the affected roads and was also a farmer.
“I am a farmer myself, so this is personal to me too. I also developed an interest in mass transportation early in life, and over the decades I have watched our transport infrastructure deteriorate significantly,” he said.
According to him, the consequences of bad roads extend beyond motorists and transport operators, as the additional costs eventually affect consumers.
“The driver pays. The trader pays. The farmer pays. But ultimately, the ordinary Nigerian buying food in the market pays,” Atiku said.
He described transport infrastructure as a critical component of economic activity, arguing that its condition determines how quickly agricultural produce reaches markets, the profitability of businesses and the cost of moving people and goods.
Atiku also said poor roads could have security implications, as stranded or slow-moving vehicles on isolated routes could leave travellers more vulnerable to criminal attacks.
He pledged that, if elected, his administration would identify roads carrying significant volumes of agricultural produce, manufactured goods, raw materials and passengers and prioritise their rehabilitation.
“Let me state my commitment clearly: if elected President, the rehabilitation and maintenance of Nigeria’s critical economic corridors will be treated as a national economic priority, not as an afterthought,” he said.
The former vice president also criticised what he described as the continued abandonment of existing infrastructure while governments announce new and expensive projects.
He said his proposed approach would involve building new infrastructure where necessary, urgently rehabilitating deteriorating facilities and maintaining existing assets.
“Infrastructure under my leadership will not be about monuments to government. It will be about making life easier for Nigerians,” Atiku said.
He added that every public infrastructure expenditure should be assessed by its impact on production, transportation, earnings and the welfare of citizens.
“Every naira we spend must answer a simple question: does this investment help Nigerians produce more, move more easily, earn more and live better?” he said.
Atiku further pledged to prioritise infrastructure that reconnects farms with markets, factories with consumers and communities with economic opportunities.
The ADC candidate also endorsed Yakubu’s appeal for his campaign to focus on national issues rather than ethnic or regional divisions.
“I do not want a Nigeria reduced to Fulani versus Yoruba, North versus South, Muslim versus Christian, or one tribe against another,” he said.
Atiku argued that economic hardship affects Nigerians regardless of their ethnic or regional backgrounds, adding that the country’s challenges require national solutions.
“Our problems are Nigerian problems. Our solutions must be Nigerian solutions,” he said.
News
EuroMatch NPFL: The Whistle That Won Both Sides — Ibuot Nsisong Linus Earns Rare Praise After Kwara United-Ranchers Bees Thriller
Kwara United claimed the three points, but centre referee Ibuot Nsisong Linus emerged as another major talking point from Sunday’s EuroMatch Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) encounter after earning commendation from both sides following the hosts’ entertaining 2-1 comeback victory over Ranchers Bees in Ilorin.
Linus, from Akwa Ibom State, handled the EuroMatch NPFL Matchday Seven fixture at the Kwara State Stadium, working alongside assistant referees Ikponmwonsa Imuetinyan and Morrison Otuwho, with Abdulmalik Abdulganiyu serving as fourth official.
Ranchers Bees carried the advantage into half-time, but Kwara United responded after the break to turn the contest around and secure another important EuroMatch NPFL victory. The visitors were eventually reduced to 10 men following Faisal Sani’s dismissal for a second yellow card.
Despite the intensity surrounding the comeback and sending-off, the encounter ended peacefully, with coaches from both clubs commending Linus and his officiating team after the final whistle.
One supporter, Ismaila, was equally impressed by the referee’s management of the EuroMatch NPFL contest.
“I loved what I saw today—free-flowing football from both sides. The officiating was outstanding, and we pray to see more performances like this,” he said.
“Fans come to enjoy good football, regardless of who wins. When the game flows well and we do not see bias in the officiating, everybody can go home peacefully. You have to give credit to this referee; he deserves commendation.”
Linus has been building his reputation through Nigeria’s refereeing development structure. He was previously identified among the country’s Young Talent referees for a FIFA Member Association course before progressing to EuroMatch NPFL assignments.
Sunday’s performance offered another opportunity for the emerging official to demonstrate his ability in Nigeria’s top flight.
Effective security and medical arrangements also contributed to a successful matchday, while both teams, officials and supporters departed the stadium without any reported incident.
For the EuroMatch NPFL, it was the kind of afternoon that strengthens confidence in the competition: an exciting comeback, competitive football, disciplined benches and an officiating team praised by winners and losers alike.
Kwara United took the points, but Linus took the applause — a notable Matchday Seven moment for the EuroMatch NPFL.
The Federal Government has rejected calls for the return of petrol subsidy, warning that subsidising fuel could cost the country more than N20 trillion annually and ultimately make petrol more expensive.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Thursday during a press briefing in Abuja on rising petrol prices and the subsidy debate.
Mr Oyedele said Nigeria consumes about 50 million litres of petrol daily, meaning that returning petrol to its pre-2023 reform price would cost more than N20 trillion every year.
He said even a proposal to sell petrol at N500 per litre would cost the government more than N16 trillion annually, before accounting for increased consumption and smuggling.
“Amounts of that size are nearly everything the Federation Account shared among all three tiers of government in 2025,” Mr Oyedele said.
He warned that funding such a subsidy would come at the expense of other government responsibilities, including salaries, pensions, schools, hospitals and security.
The minister’s comment comes amid renewed calls for the reintroduction of fuel subsidy, with the issue increasingly featuring in political debates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
‘Subsidy could push petrol to N2,000 per litre’
According to the minister, a return to subsidy could weaken government revenues, trigger a sovereign credit downgrade, increase borrowing costs and put pressure on foreign reserves and the naira.
The government estimates that the exchange rate could approach N3,000 to the dollar within months if subsidy is restored.
Mr Oyedele said this could push the price of so-called subsidised petrol to at least ₦2,000 per litre, significantly above the current average of about ₦1,400.
“A subsidy does not lower the cost of fuel. It only changes how it is paid, and when,” he said.
He argued that crude oil, freight and refining inputs are largely priced in dollars, meaning that forcing down the naira price of petrol would effectively require the government to subsidise foreign exchange.
‘Production subsidy’ is consumption subsidy
The minister also rejected descriptions of a proposed subsidy for locally refined petrol as a “production subsidy”.
He said a genuine production subsidy would support producers who could not compete at market prices, whereas the proposal being discussed would amount to providing discounted crude that would eventually be passed on to consumers at the pump.
“This is different, it is a discount on crude, passed through to the pump. That is a consumption subsidy by another route, with the same bill attached,” he said.
Mr Oyedele said subsidised fuel would also increase the price differential between Nigeria and neighbouring countries, potentially encouraging smuggling and effectively making Nigerian taxpayers subsidise motorists in other countries.
N15.8trn saved from subsidy removal
The minister defended the 2023 removal of petrol subsidy, saying it had released N15.8 trillion to the Federation Account between June 2023 and December 2025.
Of that amount, N10.4 trillion went to states and local governments, he said.
Mr Oyedele said 27 states could not reliably pay salaries in May 2023, but that none was in that position at the time of the briefing.
At the federal level, he said about two-thirds of the subsidy savings, combined with additional independent revenue and borrowing, had been used for spending that directly benefited Nigerians through higher wages, infrastructure, electricity subsidy and social transfers.
The remaining funds, he said, were used to stabilise the economy, particularly as the cost of servicing debt increased due to higher interest rates introduced to tackle inflation.
Government rejects blanket subsidy
Mr Oyedele said the government had instead used tax and duty waivers, local refining, naira-for-crude arrangements, exchange-rate stabilisation and CNG deployment to moderate fuel costs.
He said the government had granted a full waiver of taxes and duties on petrol worth more than N3.3 trillion for the year to 30 September 2026.
He added that the government would continue to consider targeted relief rather than a blanket subsidy.
Among the new measures are a 30-day discount on petrol sold at NNPC stations, a proposed N1,350 ceiling on the ex-gantry or landing cost of petrol, additional cash transfers, subsidised credit and faster CNG deployment.
READ ALSO: NNPCL: Accounting for fuel subsidy, By Uddin Ifeanyi
The government is also considering an excess profit tax on energy operators, with proceeds earmarked for measures to cushion vulnerable consumers.
Mr Oyedele said the government would not reverse the subsidy reform, arguing that doing so would expose Nigeria to the same cycle of fuel scarcity, smuggling, currency weakness and fiscal pressure experienced in the past.
“Our task is not to reverse a necessary reform designed to set our country on the path towards sustained prosperity,” he said. “It is to make sure its gains reach more Nigerians, more quickly and in more tangible ways.”
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