Subsidy return will cripple North — APC chairman Yilwatda

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has warned that any attempt to restore fuel subsidy would negatively affect ongoing development projects in Northern Nigeria.

Yilwatda spoke on Monday while receiving former candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) who defected to the ruling party after withdrawing from various State House of Assembly races in the North.

The APC chairman argued that returning to fuel subsidy would reduce government revenue available for critical projects, including road construction, gas development and fertiliser initiatives.

“The Hausa radio stations tell us that they will return the subsidy. I keep asking: How are they going to return the subsidy?” Yilwatda said.

“Do you mean they will stop all these road constructions because they want to return the subsidy? Because there will be no money for these constructions?”

He cited ongoing road projects across the region, including the Abuja-Kano and Kano-Maiduguri corridors, arguing that the scale of federal infrastructure investment in the North showed that the region was benefiting from current policies.

Yilwatda also questioned whether restoring subsidy would affect other programmes, including gas projects, fertiliser supply, compressed natural gas (CNG) initiatives and student loan schemes.

“The gas they are bringing to the North will come with fertiliser, and we in the North need that fertiliser to farm. Do you mean they should stop it?” he asked.

“Should most of our people who cannot afford school fees go back to being wheelbarrow pushers in the villages?”

The APC chairman also defended the administration’s record in the North, rejecting claims that the region had been neglected.

He listed several ongoing projects, including roads linking Abuja to Kano, Kano to Maiduguri, Jos to Akwanga, Sokoto to Kebbi, Kano to Daura and Zaria to Danja.

Yilwatda also argued that the removal of fuel subsidy had helped states regain financial stability, recalling that several states, particularly in the North, struggled to pay salaries before the Tinubu administration came into office.

The warning came as the APC welcomed former ADC candidates into its fold ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The defectors, led by Princess Aslam Aliyu, popularly known as Gimbiyar Kauran Namoda, said their decision was based on a desire to contribute to the development agenda of the ruling party.

Mohammed Hassan, an ADC candidate from Zamfara State, who spoke on behalf of the group, said they were joining the APC to support President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

“We are not here merely to change the political platform, but to begin a new chapter of service and make a great contribution to our people,” Hassan said.

Yilwatda urged the defectors to return to their states and local government areas to strengthen the party’s structures ahead of the 2027 elections.