The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has asked the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, to clarify the legal, fiscal and practical framework for his proposal to introduce a production subsidy for locally refined petroleum products.
The APC-PCC said the proposal raised questions about its compatibility with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, as well as how the Federal Government would finance the subsidy without creating additional pressure on public finances.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the council’s spokesman, Dele Alake, said Atiku needed to explain how the proposed intervention would work within Nigeria’s existing petroleum-sector regulatory framework.
The statement followed Atiku’s call on President Bola Tinubu on Friday to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel. Atiku proposed a production subsidy for locally refined petroleum products as one mechanism through which pump prices could be reduced.
The APC campaign council questioned whether the proposal would amount to a return to a form of fuel subsidy and asked Atiku to provide details on the proposed funding mechanism.
The exchange comes as petroleum pricing and the impact of subsidy reforms remain major issues in the political debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku has previously argued that the government should use available fiscal measures to cushion Nigerians from high energy and transportation costs, while the Tinubu administration has maintained that its removal of the petrol subsidy was necessary to reform the economy and reduce the fiscal burden associated with subsidised fuel.
The debate over Atiku’s proposal therefore centres on several issues, including the legal authority for a production subsidy, its cost to government, the mechanism for determining eligible refiners and products, and whether any intervention would ultimately reduce retail petrol prices for consumers.
