Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has promised to replace petrol import subsidies with a production-focused subsidy aimed at lowering fuel costs, boosting domestic refining and reducing the cost of living.
Atiku, in a post on X, said his proposed policy would support crude oil refined in Nigeria rather than use public funds to make imported petrol cheaper.
He said the objective was to enable local refineries to produce fuel at lower costs, create jobs and ultimately reduce the amount Nigerians spend on petrol and transportation.
“I am not restoring subsidy so that Nigeria can keep paying for imported petrol. I am restoring subsidy so that Nigerians can produce more at home, pay less for fuel, and keep more money in their pockets,” he said.
The ADC candidate distinguished between what he called “import subsidy” and “production subsidy”, using the shoe-making industry in Aba as an illustration.
According to him, instead of spending public funds to make imported shoes cheaper, government should support local shoemakers to reduce their production costs, increase output and employ more Nigerians.
“I choose the Aba shoemaker. I will do the same with fuel,” Atiku said.
He said his administration would support domestic crude refining to enable Nigerian refineries to produce petrol more cheaply.
Atiku said the policy would be part of a broader strategy to reduce the cost of living, arguing that cheaper fuel would have a direct effect on transportation, food prices and the operating costs of small businesses.
He said his goal was to reduce the cost of daily economic activities for households and businesses.
“I want the bus fare you pay every morning to come down. I want the cost of taking food from the farm to the market to come down,” he said.
“I want the trader to spend less. I want the barber, tailor, welder and small business owner to spend less on energy.”
