Cost of living crisis: Northwest ADC candidates demand fuel subsidy return

ABUJA — Governorship candidates of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in the seven Northwest states have called on President Bola Tinubu to reverse the removal of fuel subsidy, saying the policy has worsened the cost of living crisis in the region.

The candidates from Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara and Jigawa states made the demand on Tuesday in Abuja while signing the Northwest ADC Governorship Candidates’ Compact 2027–2031.

The document was presented by former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation and ADC governorship candidate in Kebbi State, Malam Abubakar Malami, SAN.

The candidates said they fully supported the position of the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on the restoration of fuel subsidy.

Malami said restoring the subsidy would be among the immediate measures required to address what he described as the worsening economic hardship confronting residents of the region.

“We, the ADC Governorship Candidates of the seven Northwest States, hereby declare our total support for the promise made by the ADC Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to restore the subsidy as one of the immediate steps to halt the further slide of our people into abject poverty,” he said.

The candidates alleged that the removal of the subsidy had increased hardship among households in the region, while the expected benefits of the policy had not translated into improved living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.

They also criticised APC-led administrations in the Northwest, alleging that huge allocations from the Federation Account had not resulted in commensurate improvements in infrastructure, healthcare, food security and security.

According to the candidates, the seven Northwest states and their local government areas received more than N8.33 trillion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, between June 2023 and August 2026.

They, however, alleged that the funds had not significantly improved the living conditions of residents.

The candidates further criticised what they described as the ostentatious lifestyles of some APC governors in the region, alleging that government officials were living in affluence while residents grappled with poverty.

On insecurity, the candidates said more than 16,000 lives had been lost to insecurity in the region between June 2023 and August 2026.

They also claimed that more than 1,583 kidnapping incidents had occurred since January 2023, affecting more than 10,000 residents.

The candidates said insecurity had also affected agricultural production, with more than 533,000 hectares of farmland in Zamfara and Katsina states allegedly abandoned.

They further claimed that the Northwest accounts for about 45 per cent of Nigeria’s out-of-school children.

“Insecurity has emptied our farms, and those empty farms have brought hunger, driven our children out of the classroom, and have denied them the education the region requires to dry up the recruitment pool for future banditry, kidnappings and all associated crimes,” they said.

To address insecurity, the candidates pledged to deploy drones across the region and establish a Northwest Regional Security Coordination Centre, alongside technology-driven surveillance and rapid-response networks in each of the region’s 21 senatorial districts.

On workers’ welfare, they promised to implement a minimum wage of N110,000 across the seven states if elected.

They also outlined five priority areas covering agriculture and food security, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and youth and enterprise development.

Their proposals include protected agricultural corridors, a regional grain reserve, improved access to Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, programmes, integration of Almajiri and Tsangaya children into formal education, and full access to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, BHCPF.

They also proposed the establishment of specialist hospitals in each of the 21 senatorial districts, investment in roads, rail and independent power, as well as a Regional Youth Fund and Technical and Vocational Education and Training, TVET, programmes.

The candidates said each state would retain its constitutional authority over its budget, procurement, civil service and other internal affairs, while cooperating on issues such as security, trade and infrastructure.

“We will cooperate where cooperation works better. We will preserve the constitutional authority and priorities of our states. We will plan before we promise. We will publish what we deliver,” they declared.

They also announced the establishment of a Central Coordination Committee chaired by Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki; a Technical Committee chaired by Maj. Gen. Aminu Bande (retd.) and co-chaired by Prof. Sadiq Abubakar; and a Media and Strategic Communications Committee co-chaired by Salihu Tanko Yakasai.

The Compact was signed by Sabo Mohammed Nakudu of Jigawa, Isa Mohammed Ashiru of Kaduna, Ibrahim Ali Amin of Kano, Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita of Katsina, Abubakar Malami, SAN, of Kebbi, Manir Muhammad Dan’iya of Sokoto, and Bilyaminu Shinkafi of Zamfara.