A former board member of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, Dr. Chike Okogwu, has backed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy, arguing that its removal has transferred an unbearable burden to Nigerian households.
Okogwu, who represented Persons With Disabilities on the SURE-P Board between 2012 and 2015, said in a statement in Abuja on Monday that Nigeria’s problem was never subsidy itself, but the corruption and mismanagement that thrived around it.
“The Federal Government’s fuel subsidy gamble has shifted the crushing burden of petrol costs from government to already battered households,” he said.
He said government cannot claim success from subsidy removal while Nigerians continue to grapple with rising costs of transportation, food, healthcare and education.
Instead of outright abandonment, Okogwu called for a complete overhaul of the subsidy architecture, with technology deployed to block leakages and prevent fraud.
“The real battle should be against fraud and diversion — not against a mechanism capable of cushioning Nigerians from runaway fuel prices,” he stated.
He proposed the use of the Bank Verification Number, BVN, and other digital identification systems to verify beneficiaries and track petroleum products and payments from refineries to filling stations.
“Under such a system, government should be capable of tracking the movement of fuel and corresponding payments, making diversion significantly more difficult,” he said.
Okogwu said the SURE-P experience showed that savings from subsidy reforms could be channeled into infrastructure and social interventions.
He cited the Second Niger Bridge, Loko-Oweto Bridge, federal road projects and railway rehabilitation as projects supported through the programme.
He rejected calls to dismiss SURE-P entirely over corruption allegations, saying individuals who abused public resources should be held accountable.
The former board member said the post-subsidy era has imposed severe pressure on vulnerable Nigerians, with higher petrol prices feeding directly into transport costs and subsequently driving up prices of food, healthcare and education.
He said the impact has been particularly devastating for persons with disabilities, the elderly and low-income earners.
Okogwu also demanded full transparency on funds saved from subsidy removal, insisting Nigerians have a right to know how the money has been deployed.
He further called for stronger support for domestic refining, arguing that Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products remains a major vulnerability to global price shocks.
He warned that reviving subsidy without closing past loopholes would amount to repeating mistakes, saying: “any new subsidy system must protect vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, widows, students, farmers and low-income earners”.
Okogwu urged policymakers to confront the failures of SURE-P without discarding its lessons, and to design any future subsidy arrangement that is transparent, technology-driven, accountable and delivers measurable benefits to Nigerians.
