APC presidential campaign council to Atiku: Explain legal basis, ₦21 trillion cost of petrol subsidy plan

APC presidential campaign council to Atiku: Explain legal basis, ₦21 trillion cost of petrol subsidy plan

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to explain the legal framework, funding source and consumer-price guarantees behind his proposed subsidy for locally refined petrol.

In a statement issued Sunday by its spokesman, Dele Alake, the council said Atiku’s proposal could cost the country between ₦17 trillion and ₦21 trillion annually, depending on the subsidy rate, volume of petroleum products covered and structure of the intervention.

Atiku had, during a press conference in Abuja on Friday, renewed his call for what he described as a “production subsidy” for locally refined petrol.

He argued that the measure would reduce pump prices and urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lower the prices of petrol and diesel.

The APC-PCC, however, said the proposal raised legal, fiscal and operational questions that the former presidential candidate must address before presenting it as a viable alternative to the government’s deregulation policy.

It cited Section 205(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which provides that wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products should be determined by unrestricted free-market conditions.

According to the council, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had also clarified that it neither fixes pump prices nor issues administrative pricing templates except when the statutory conditions for regulatory intervention have been met.

It quoted the authority as saying that no market failure warranting such intervention had been declared.

The campaign council asked Atiku to state whether refineries receiving his proposed subsidy would be compelled to sell petrol at government-prescribed prices.

“If the answer is yes, he should identify the legal framework under which the government would impose that price condition and explain how it would operate consistently with the Petroleum Industry Act.

“If the answer is no, he should explain how public support to refiners would guarantee lower prices at filling stations. Without an enforceable mechanism, refiners could receive the benefit while consumers continued to pay market prices,” the statement said.

The APC-PCC also demanded details of the proposed subsidy rate, annual spending limit, volume of crude oil or petrol to be covered and source of funding.

Other details sought by the council included safeguards against diversion, smuggling and fraudulent claims, as well as any amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act that would be required to implement the proposal.

It argued that a National Assembly appropriation could authorise public expenditure but might not resolve all the regulatory issues arising from the operation of the PIA.

The council said Atiku’s earlier intervention suggested that the subsidy could take the form of crude oil supplied to domestic refineries at preferential prices. It contended that any discount on crude would reduce the revenue accruing to the Federation Account and, by extension, the funds available to the federal, state and local governments.

“Based on publicly reported refinery throughput and domestic petrol-supply figures, the cost of the new subsidy could run as high as ₦17 trillion or ₦21 trillion annually, depending on the discount size, the volume covered and whether the support applies to the entire barrel or only to petrol sold domestically,” the statement said.

The APC-PCC urged Atiku to publish the calculations and assumptions supporting his proposal, warning that an improperly designed intervention could reopen the fiscal difficulties associated with the former subsidy regime.

It also asked the former vice president to reconcile his latest position with his earlier support for deregulation and subsidy removal.

The council recalled that Atiku told an audience at the Lagos Business School in November 2022 that the petrol subsidy arrangement was fraudulent and promised to complete its removal. It also referred to his August 25, 2026 statement on X in which he reportedly declared, “I will restore it!”

According to the statement, Atiku should explain why he now supports the return of subsidy in another form and demonstrate how the proposed system would avoid scarcity, fraudulent claims, cross-border smuggling and massive fiscal losses.

The APC campaign council noted that the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector began under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, when Atiku served as vice president.

It said diesel was deregulated in June 2003, while aviation fuel was also subjected to market pricing during the same administration. Kerosene was deregulated under the Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2016, leaving petrol as the last major product under the previous subsidy arrangement.

The council maintained that the Petroleum Industry Act, whose reform process began during the Obasanjo-Atiku administration, provided for the old petrol subsidy system to end in June 2023.

It said President Tinubu’s administration had chosen to reduce transportation expenses by expanding compressed natural gas and electric mass-transit services instead of reinstating petrol subsidies.

According to the APC-PCC, more than 120,000 vehicles have been converted to CNG under the government’s programme, while additional conversions have been undertaken by private operators.

The council said commuters in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory were recording fare reductions of between 31 and 83 per cent on routes served by CNG and electric buses.

It cited Borno state, where passengers reportedly pay between ₦50 and ₦100 on routes for which commercial operators charge between ₦300 and ₦600. On the Suleja-Abuja route, it said commuters using the alternative service pay ₦550 instead of approximately ₦800.

The statement added that Kaduna state’s free CNG buses transported more than 1.4 million passengers within five months of 2025, resulting in estimated fare savings of ₦1.39 billion.

It also said alternative-energy transport services had reduced fares by up to 50 per cent in Adamawa State, while Abia State had deployed 40 electric buses and 20 charging stations.

The APC-PCC acknowledged that rising petrol prices were putting pressure on households, but said the government would continue introducing measures to moderate their effects.

It attributed the latest increase in petrol and diesel prices partly to the Middle East crisis, which pushed international crude oil prices above $100 per barrel. The council expressed hope that a de-escalation would reduce crude prices and ultimately lower fuel prices in Nigeria and other countries.

It said the NMDPRA was working with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to curb price gouging and collaborating with the Nigeria Customs Service to prevent the diversion of petroleum products across Nigeria’s borders.

The council also argued that deregulation had encouraged greater investment in domestic refining, citing the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s reported attainment of its 650,000-barrel-per-day nameplate capacity and its performance tests at about 700,000 barrels daily.

It added that the company had launched an initial public offering targeting ₦2.1 trillion to finance further expansion.

The council said any intervention in the downstream sector must be lawful, transparent, properly costed and structured to deliver measurable benefits to consumers.

“Atiku should provide Nigerians with a detailed policy document and an independent legal and fiscal analysis of his proposal.

“Until he does so, his production-subsidy plan remains an uncosted promise without a clearly identified legal or operational framework,” the statement said.