Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Adewole Adebayo, has warned that the price of petrol could rise to N5,000 per litre if President Bola Tinubu secures a second term in office.
Adebayo made the prediction in a statement issued by his campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Mark Adebayo, on Wednesday.
He attributed the projected increase to the Federal Government’s deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector and the floating of the naira.
According to him, Nigeria’s dependence on imported petrol, which is priced in US dollars, means that further weakening of the naira could significantly increase the cost of fuel.
He said if the exchange rate reaches N3,500 to a dollar in the coming years, the landing cost of petrol alone could exceed N4,000 per litre.
“A N5,000 fuel price is not a myth; it is basic mathematics based on the direction the Tinubu administration is walking,” he said.
Adebayo also criticised the removal of fuel subsidies, arguing that the policy leaves consumers exposed to fluctuations in global crude oil prices.
He said higher petrol prices would increase transportation costs, which would, in turn, drive up the prices of food and other essential commodities.
The SDP candidate further pointed to high interest rates, port challenges and distribution costs as factors that could add to the cost of importing and distributing petrol.