June 10, 2025 by and Ekaete Bassey

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023, Peter Obi, and Special Adviser to the President on Public Communications, Daniel Bwala, yesterday disagreed on the nation’s economic policy and governance.

Obi, in an interview on a national television, insisted that he  would have  removed the subsidy on petrol  and floated the naira but not in the ‘haphazard way’ the current administration implemented it.

But Bwala kicked against Obi’s positon.

He said the former governor of Anambra State has shallow knowledge of economics and politics.

 Obi said while he supports the reforms in principle, he would have approached them in a ‘gradual and organised’ manner with clear goals and measurable outcomes.

He said: “I have consistently maintained that I would have removed the fuel subsidy. If you go to my manifesto, it is there and the steps I would have taken in an organised manner.

“There is nothing wrong with the removal of fuel subsidy. What is wrong is the haphazard way in which it was announced and implemented.”

President Bola Tinubu during his inauguration on May 29, 2023  announced the withdrawal of  subsidy on petrol.

 Following the announcement, petrol prices spiked from around N190 to over N500 per litre and have since soared past N850 in many parts of the country.

Obi criticised the lack of visible improvements in sectors meant to benefit from the removal.

 He said the Federal Government promised to reinvest the money saved from the subsidy removal  into critical infrastructure but has yet to show meaningful impacts.

“Since we were told that we removed it because we don’t want to borrow and that the funds will allow for investments in critical infrastructure. Billions saved. Where is it? Where is it invested in critical areas of development, ? Obi asked.

“Everybody knows critical areas of development — education, health, and pulling people out of poverty. Have any of these three improved? No.”

The former Anambra State governor also backed the idea of floating the naira, a policy the Tinubu administration adopted weeks after ending the subsidy but stressed that currency liberalisation only works when matched with strong domestic production.

He said: “There is nothing wrong in floating and devaluing your currency. You do this when you have productivity. In all of this, I would have done the same thing in an organised manner.”

Obi argued that a government focused on reform should first stimulate production, especially in agriculture and manufacturing, to cushion the impact of economic changes on citizens.

 He also noted the importance of negotiating a fair pricing template for petrol with operators before policy shifts.

 Bwala, in a post shared yesterday on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle, said the former   governor offered no credible alternatives while conceding agreement with the Tinubu administration’s broad economic direction.

“He seems to have very shallow knowledge of economics and governance. Anybody with a rational mind knows these guys are just looking for ways  to grab power; but they don’t have any alternative agenda”, Bwala wrote.

He dismissed Obi’s claim, suggesting the former candidate merely danced around the issue when pressed for specifics.

“He agreed with our policy of removal of subsidy and unifications of the foreign exchange; he claimed he would have done it better than us in an ‘organized manner’. He was asked what is the ‘organized manner.’ He played with words yet to arrive at agreeing with us”, Bwala said.