The Presidency has once again lambasted the plan of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in the forthcoming 2027 general elections.
In a post via X on Wednesday, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, described the plan as an ‘arithmetic flaw.’
While arguing that selling crude oil to local refineries at preferential prices could create fiscal, market and smuggling challenges, Dare further described Atiku’s proposal as an ‘economic safari.’
According to the statement titled, ‘The Arithmetic Flaw in Subsidising the Barrel’, the presidential aide said Atiku’s proposal to supply crude to domestic refiners below market value 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,” he said.
Dare further cautioned that preferential crude pricing could distort competition in the downstream petroleum sector, adding that such an arrangement could risk creating artificial monopolies, destabilising smaller indigenous modular refiners and conflict with the deregulatory provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.
He raised concerns about a possible return of fuel smuggling if subsidised petrol is sold significantly cheaper in Nigeria than 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 added.
‘Arithmetic flaw’ -Presidency blasts Atiku’s petrol subsidy plan