Sunday Ehigiator
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has faulted the ongoing debate among President Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, over petrol subsidy, saying petrol could sell for about N200 per litre in Nigeria if it properly harnessed other products derived from crude oil.
Duke, who described the fuel subsidy controversy as a “scam,” argued that Nigeria’s crude oil resources and the range of products derived from crude should make petrol significantly cheaper for Nigerians.
“Look, I don’t believe there’s any subsidy in fuel. For a barrel of crude oil, there are about seven by-products. The two consequential ones are diesel and petrol, PMS and AGO, and kerosene, aviation fuel and all those things.
“You sell them at commercial rates, okay? Work it out. You can almost sell petrol today at N200 a litre, not the N1,000-plus. So that thing about subsidy, I think, is the biggest scam that has been perpetrated, maybe globally.”
His position came amid divergent proposals by Tinubu, Atiku and Obi on how to address the rising cost of petrol and its impact on Nigerians.
Tinubu announced petrol subsidy removal on May 29, 2023, after the government before his made no provision for it in the appropriation law, arguing that the policy was unsustainable and that funds previously committed to subsidy could be redirected to development.
Atiku has however advocated a targeted subsidy to cushion the impact of high living costs, while Obi has supported the removal of subsidy but called for greater transparency in the use of the savings.
But the former Cross River State governor, said the debate was overlooking Nigeria’s enormous energy resources and the need to exploit them for the benefit of citizens.
“You’re an energy-blessed country. You have all known forms of energy existing in Nigeria, from the crudest, which is human labour, to hydrocarbons, solar, hydro, uranium and now lithium.
“You have all those things. Why are we still energy-poor? Because the political will is not there. But even beyond the political will, we’re not thinking through this.”
The former governor also criticised Nigeria’s continued flaring of natural gas despite persistent energy shortages and high electricity costs.
“We easily flare two billion cubic feet of gas a day. That is equivalent to 20 million litres of diesel. If you had a turbine to power all of Africa, it would not consume 20 million litres of diesel daily. So, it’s akin to the abundance of water while the fish is thirsty.”
Duke further rejected comparisons between Nigeria’s fuel prices and those in other countries, arguing that governments should take advantage of their respective natural resources.