A clip of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II warning that anyone promising easy answers on fuel subsidy is “either lying or doesn’t know the job” has been shared online and applied to Atiku Abubakar’s pledge to restore the subsidy if elected in 2027.

The remark comes from a 2022 Kaduna speech, when Sanusi was discussing the burden facing the next president after years of subsidy costs and debt. He said corrective decisions would be hard and that voters should be wary of anyone who presented the choice as simple.

Some users have framed the clip as a direct rebuke of Atiku. Others noted that the original comments were aimed at whoever would take office in 2023 and at promises to remove the subsidy overnight, not specifically at a later pledge to bring it back.

Atiku, the African Democratic Congress candidate, has said he did not oppose subsidy removal but wants the policy restored because Nigerians have not seen how the savings were used. He has also demanded an account of federation revenues since the reform.

The Presidency has accused him of reversing his earlier position for political gain. Sanusi has long argued that the old subsidy system was costly and open to abuse, while also criticising how later reforms were sequenced.

The online exchange shows how an older warning is being reused in the 2027 campaign debate over fuel prices, hardship and public finance.