Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi says that if he were president, he would remove the subsidy on petroleum products in an organized way rather than immediately on inauguration day. Obi was responding to claims that he criticized President Bola Tinubu over the manner in which the fuel subsidy was removed in 2023. He said he did not criticize Tinubu for removing the subsidy itself, but argued that he would have handled the process differently. According to Obi, he would first meet with stakeholders and operators in the petroleum industry before announcing any subsidy changes, citing concerns about criminality around subsidy arrangements. He also said that removing the subsidy would help determine the exact amount being spent, and that the process should address issues linked to exchange rate deregulation. Obi further argued that the period after subsidy removal has worsened conditions for ordinary Nigerians and that the government has borrowed more money since the subsidy was removed. The statements are reported as coming from an interview with Rufai Oseni.