By Jude Opara
The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has challenged the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar to give more clarification on his proposed “production subsidy” for locally refined petrol, which he allegedly said would reduce pump prices of diesel and petrol.
Spokesman of the PCC, Dele Alake in a statement on Sunday said the proposal raises important legal and practical questions that Atiku must answer.
Alake further argued that Section 205 (1) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 provides that unrestricted free-market conditions shall determine wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products.
He noted that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had in a statement on Saturday, explained that it neither fixes pump prices nor issues administrative price templates, except where the statutory conditions for intervention are met.
According to him, the ADC presidential candidate has the responsibility of explaining whether under him a refinery getting his proposed subsidy would be required to sell products at prescribed prices.
“If the answer is yes, he should identify the legal framework under which the government would impose that price condition and explain how it would operate consistently with the Petroleum Industry Act.
“If the answer is no, he should explain how public support to refiners would guarantee lower prices at filling stations. Without an enforceable mechanism, refiners could receive the benefit while consumers continued to pay market prices.
“Atiku must also disclose the cost of his proposal and how he would fund it. His earlier statement suggested that the intervention could take the form of preferentially priced crude for domestic refineries,” the statement noted.
Alake, who is also the Minister of Solid Minerals warned that any arbitrary discount on crude will certainly return the country to the pre-Tinubu era where many states were unable to even pay salaries.
He added: “Any discount on crude would reduce the value accruing to the Federation and, consequently, the revenue available to the federal, state and local governments, triggering afresh the fiscal crisis that made 27 states unable to pay salaries and pensions before President Tinubu assumed office in 2023.
“Based on publicly reported refinery throughput and domestic petrol-supply figures, the cost of the new subsidy could run as high as N17 or N21 trillion annually, depending on the discount size, the volume covered, and whether the support applies to the entire barrel or only to petrol sold domestically.”
The PCC spokesman added that while an appropriation by the National Assembly may authorise expenditure, it would not by itself resolve every regulatory question arising under the Petroleum Industry Act. He said if Atiku intends to amend the law, he should say so plainly.
“His latest position must also be reconciled with his previous support for downstream deregulation. In November 2022 at the Lagos Business School, Atiku described the petrol subsidy system as fraudulent and pledged to complete its removal.
“He reminded his audience that he chaired the committee that removed its first and second phases, and promised to complete the process. On 25 August 2026, he announced on X, “I will restore it!”
“He must explain why he now advocates restoring subsidy in another form and how his proposed arrangement would avoid the abuse, scarcity, smuggling and fiscal losses associated with the old system.
“Deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector began under the Obasanjo-Atiku administration. Diesel—which powers food trucks, generators and factories—was deregulated in June 2003. Aviation fuel also moved to market pricing under the same administration.
“The Buhari administration deregulated kerosene in 2016. Petrol was the last major product retained under the old subsidy regime, which was scheduled to end in June 2023 under the PIA.
“Nigeria spent about two decades developing the PIA. The reform process began in 2000, during the first term of the administration in which Atiku served as Vice President.
“He should therefore explain how his new proposal aligns with the legal and regulatory framework that emerged from that process,” it added.
He said that President Tinubu’s administration has focused on expanding lower-cost alternatives through compressed natural gas and electric mass transit, and that they are already reducing transport costs on routes served by CNG and electric buses.
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