{
  "id": 2949490,
  "title": "There shouldn’t be fuel subsidy in Nigeria – Kenneth Okonkwo",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/there-shouldnt-be-fuel-subsidy-in-nigeria-kenneth-okonkwo",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-24T05:30:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Post Nigeria",
    "slug": "daily-post-nigeria",
    "url": "https://dailypost.ng/2026/08/24/there-shouldnt-be-fuel-subsidy-in-nigeria-kenneth-okonkwo/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kenyan Okonkwo, the spokesperson for presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar's African Democratic Congress, has spoken out against fuel subsidies in Nigeria. During an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Okonkwo criticized the timing of the fuel subsidy removal by the President Bola Tinubu administration, deeming it poorly conceived. The spokesperson highlighted that hunger and poverty continue to impact over 35 million Nigerians who struggle to afford essential food. Okonkwo also pointed out that the minimum wage in Nigeria is insufficient, covering only half a tank of fuel for civil servants with a 100-litre petrol tank. He argued that inflation cannot be decreasing when goods and services prices continue to rise. Okonkwo emphasized that the government's decision to remove fuel subsidies is unsustainable and a form of induced poverty. He noted that the cost of fuel per litre is now approximately N1,300, making it almost twice the minimum wage, thus leaving little room for rent, food, or medical care. Okonkwo stressed that responsible leaders would not accept such a level of poverty and warned against the Nigerian Statistics Bureau's dubious reporting. He emphasized that if inflation figures continue to drop while goods prices rise, it is an example of \"voodoo economics.\"",
  "summary": "Mr Kenneth Okonkwo, the spokesperson for the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has asserted that fuel subsidy should not exist in Nigeria. During his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Okonkwo, however, criticised the timing of fuel subsidy removal by the President Bola Tinubu administration, describing it as ill-conceived. He…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Trust",
        "title": "‘West African pricing will stop imposing fuel costs on Nigeria, others’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/west-african-pricing-will-stop-imposing-fuel-costs-on-nigeria-others",
        "published": "2026-08-24T02:22:15.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}