Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has said President Bola Tinubu cannot prevent him from reintroducing a targeted fuel subsidy if elected, describing the current administration’s claim that subsidy had been removed as deceptive.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Sunday by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, in Abuja, said records contained in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s audited accounts showed that the government continued to bear fuel-related costs despite its declaration that subsidy had ended.
According to him, the NNPC recorded N4.84tn in energy security expenses and related shortfalls in 2023, while the figure rose to N7.13tn in 2024.
Atiku said the NNPC attributed the expenses to the difference between the regulated Premium Motor Spirit ex-coastal price and the prevailing exchange rate.
“In plain English, government was still absorbing a price differential after Tinubu had triumphantly announced that subsidy was gone,” Atiku said.
He argued that the arrangement amounted to concealing subsidy payments under different classifications, adding that Nigerians deserved transparency over how public funds were being spent.
Atiku also criticised tax incentives granted to investors in deep offshore oil and gas projects, noting that the incentives include $3 and $4.50 per barrel tax credits.
He questioned why government could provide financial protection for major oil investors while opposing measures aimed at cushioning the impact of rising costs on ordinary Nigerians.
The former vice president said his proposed intervention would be targeted, capped, transparently provided for in the budget and independently audited, with a clear exit strategy. He added that the plan would be complemented by increased domestic refining capacity and improved mass transportation.
Atiku further demanded the disclosure of beneficiaries of petroleum-related tax concessions, insisting that economic policies must be applied fairly to both investors and citizens.
“A government cannot preach unrestrained market forces to the poor while practising interventionist economics for his rich foreign friends… That is not economic reform. It is classic economic apartheid,” he said.
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