Sowore blames Tinubu’s subsidy removal for cost-of-living crisis, rebuts reform claims

Abdullateef Fowewe

Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate for 2027, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 fuel subsidy removal, accusing the policy of triggering skyrocketing transportation and food costs, deepening poverty, and worsening Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis.

In a social media post timed to coincide with President Tinubu’s October 1, 2026 address, Sowore shared an edited image striking through the president’s claim that his reforms “did not create Nigeria’s economic problems,” offering a direct rebuttal to the administration’s narrative.

Sowore wrote, “Of course, your ‘subsidy is gone’ policy brought millions of Nigerians to their knees. You wrecked livelihoods, drove up the cost of transportation, food, and basic necessities, and deepened an already devastating cost-of-living crisis. You cannot reform people into hunger, poverty, and desperation and call it progress.”

Framing the subsidy removal as harmful rather than progressive, Sowore deployed the hashtag #TinubuMustGo to underscore his position that the policy has intensified hardship instead of delivering economic relief.