The Presidency has criticised the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over his proposal to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in the 2027 general elections.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, described the proposal as an “arithmetic flaw”, arguing that selling crude oil to local refineries at below-market prices could create serious fiscal and market challenges.
Dare made the remarks in a statement posted on X on Wednesday, titled, “The Arithmetic Flaw in Subsidising the Barrel.”
According to him, Atiku’s proposal to supply crude to domestic refineries at preferential prices would reduce the revenue available to the three tiers of government.
“Who pays the bill? Selling federation crude below market price creates an immediate fiscal hole in the Federation Account, directly slashing allocations to federal, state and local governments for schools, hospitals and security,” Dare said.
Presidency raises smuggling concerns
The presidential aide also warned that preferential crude pricing could distort competition in the downstream petroleum sector.
He argued that the policy could create artificial monopolies, undermine smaller indigenous modular refineries and conflict with the deregulation provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.
Dare further warned that subsidised petrol could encourage a return to cross-border fuel smuggling if pump prices in Nigeria become significantly lower than those in neighbouring countries.
“Any regime that creates a wide gap between Nigerian pump prices and neighbouring West African markets guarantees a return of cross-border fuel arbitrage, no matter how many ‘auditors’ are promised,” he said.
He described Atiku’s proposal as an “economic safari”, insisting that the plan could create unintended consequences for Nigeria’s petroleum market and government revenue.
The exchange comes as political parties and presidential hopefuls begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 general elections.
