2027 Ambitions: Sheikh Maraya Warns Politicians Against Deceptive Fuel Subsidy Campaign Promises

As political maneuvers ahead of the 2027 general elections gather momentum, prominent Kaduna-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Haliru Maraya has issued a stern admonition to political aspirants against selling unfeasible economic remedies to desperate citizens. Speaking on the growing agitation among some political figures for the reinstatement of the petrol subsidy regime, the cleric warned presidential hopefuls that deceptively exploiting public economic hardship for electoral advantage represents a grave moral and economic hazard.

Maraya, who previously served as Special Adviser on Religious Affairs to two former governors of Kaduna State, emphasized that Nigeria’s fragile fiscal framework cannot accommodate the astronomical burdens of the old subsidy structure. According to figures cited by the cleric, daily petrol consumption allegedly ranges between 47 million and 64 million liters. With refining, transportation, insurance, and administrative costs pushing the actual cost of petrol to approximately N1,218 per liter, re-implementing government subsidies would inflict severe financial hemorrhaging on the treasury.

"At present, Nigeria’s economy cannot afford to continue paying fuel subsidies as it did in the past," Maraya noted during his assessment of the nation's macroeconomic realities. He cautioned that attempting to absorb the price differential would cost the Federal Government roughly N52.3 billion every day, translating to an estimated N1.6 trillion monthly and upwards of N19 trillion annually. Given the nation's N68.3 trillion budget parameters for 2026, diverting nearly a third of national expenditure back into fuel subsidies would systematically paralyze infrastructure funding and essential public services.