The leading candidates in Nigeria’s January presidential election — campaigning for which officially opened this week — have vowed to prioritize economic growth and security if they win.
In a repeat of the 2023 election, President Bola Tinubu’s main opponents will be Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, and former state governor Peter Obi. Atiku promised on Wednesday to restore subsidized fuel, while Obi vowed to tackle security challenges such as mass abductions for ransom that threaten the country’s stability.
Tinubu, meanwhile defended his signature policies — the removal of a fuel subsidy, a tax overhaul, and a market-driven exchange-rate system — as having prevented “greater costs and harms.” Nigerian petrol prices soared after the fuel subsidy was removed in 2023. The 40% rise in fuel prices after the start of the Iran war was the highest in Africa.
