Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government’s petrol policy, accusing the administration of granting fiscal incentives to major petroleum investors while Nigerians continue to face high fuel prices and rising living costs.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration that petrol subsidy had been removed was difficult to reconcile with the tax credits, concessions and other incentives still being provided to petroleum industry operators.
Atiku argued that Nigerians had been told they had to endure the hardship caused by subsidy removal because there was no alternative, while government intervention remained available to major oil investors.
“Apparently, subsidy is only evil when poor Nigerians benefit from it.”
He specifically cited the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives framework, under which eligible petroleum projects can receive production tax credits of between $3 and $4.50 per barrel, with additional incentives potentially taking the total benefit to as much as $11.50 per barrel under certain conditions.
Atiku questioned why government intervention was considered acceptable for investors but problematic when used to provide relief to ordinary Nigerians.
“So, what exactly is Tinubu’s objection: government intervention itself, or government intervention for Nigerians?”
Atiku Questions Whether Petrol Subsidy Really Ended
The former vice-president also challenged the government’s claim that petrol subsidy had been completely eliminated, citing figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) audited accounts.
According to Atiku, NNPC recorded about N4.84 trillion in energy-security expenses and related shortfalls in 2023, followed by approximately N7.13 trillion in 2024.
He said NNPC had explained that part of the expenses resulted from the difference between the exchange rate used to determine the regulated PMS ex-coastal price and the prevailing exchange rate when import obligations were settled.
Atiku therefore questioned why Nigerians were paying higher market prices if government resources were still being used to cover price-related gaps.
“Nigerians do not eat semantics. Whether the government calls it subsidy, under-recovery, shortfall or energy security, public resources were being used to bridge a gap between economic cost and the price at which petrol was sold.”
‘We’re Not Proposing Old Subsidy Regime’
Atiku said his proposed economic recovery plan would not return Nigeria to the former open-ended and opaque subsidy system.
Instead, he said his plan would introduce a targeted, capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited intervention, linked to increased domestic production and accompanied by measures to expand refining capacity, improve competition and restore household purchasing power.
“You cannot subsidise capital and criminalise relief for citizens. You cannot offer cushions upstairs and call suffering downstairs reform.”
Atiku also called for greater transparency over petroleum-sector tax credits, remissions and other incentives, including information on beneficiaries, the value of revenue forgone and the investments delivered in return.
He argued that Nigerian investors should also have equal and transparent access to comparable incentives, while insisting that the success of economic reforms should ultimately be measured by improvements in citizens’ living standards.
Atiku said his economic plan was based on allowing markets to function and investors to earn fair returns while protecting public finances and ensuring that Nigerians benefit from government policies.
Last week, Atiku said he would restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.
His proposal was criticised by President Tinubu, who described the ADC presidential candidate as “ignorant of governance and the economy.”
Source: Atiku Abubakar’s media office.
