Senator Adams Oshiomhole has revealed how he successfully engineered massive protests in Ogun State against former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s plan to remove fuel subsidy, citing deep-seated fears that the savings would be swallowed by corruption.

Oshiomhole, who currently represents Edo North in the Senate, made the disclosure at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) during the 7th National Discourse hosted by The Companion, an organization of Muslim businessmen and professionals. The event, themed "Nigeria’s Political Landscape and The Ethno-Religious Divides," featured former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau as the lead speaker and Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat as the special guest of honour.

Reflecting on his tenure as the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) during the Obasanjo administration (1999–2007), Oshiomhole explained that his stiff resistance to the policy stemmed from a total lack of institutional mechanisms to protect the poor.

The former labour leader recounted storming Abeokuta, the capital of Obasanjo`s home state, to convince locals and key figures—including Senator Afolabi Salisu, the current Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security—to revolt against the federal government`s policy.

"When I was the NLC President, I went to Abeokuta and told the people that this subsidy `Baba` wants to remove, he can take it, but he cannot give the proceeds back to the poor," Oshiomhole said. "He had the capacity to take, but the government lacked the capacity to distribute the gains fairly because the necessary social safety nets were non-existent."

Oshiomhole noted that the strike action rapidly gained momentum, drawing in massive support from both students and staff at UNILAG. He added that while university authorities maintained a formal stance of neutrality, they secretly backed the industrial action.

"When we organised those protests, even the workers and students of UNILAG joined us. Only the Vice-Chancellor and heads of departments pretended to be neutral. In private, they completely agreed with us, knowing that if our fight succeeded, they would also benefit from it," Oshiomhole concluded.