Former Vice President and presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has said his plan to restore fuel subsidy is aimed at making petrol more affordable for Nigerians by supporting domestic refining rather than subsidising imported petroleum products.
Atiku stated this in a response to a post by an X user, Francis, explaining that what he proposed was a “production subsidy” designed to reduce the cost of locally refined fuel and ultimately ease the financial burden on Nigerians.
According to him, the objective is not to return Nigeria to a system where government spends public funds to make imported petrol cheaper, but to support local production so that Nigerian refineries can operate at lower costs.
“I am not restoring subsidy so that Nigeria can keep paying for imported petrol. I am restoring subsidy so that Nigerians can produce more at home, pay less for fuel, and keep more money in their pockets,” Atiku said.
He likened the policy to supporting shoemakers in Aba to reduce their production costs instead of spending public funds to make imported shoes cheaper.
“I choose the Aba shoemaker,” he said, stressing that the same principle would be applied to fuel through support for crude oil refined domestically.
Atiku said the policy would go beyond reducing the price of petrol, arguing that lower energy costs would have a wider impact on transportation, food prices and small businesses.
He said his administration would seek to reduce the cost of public transportation and the movement of agricultural produce from farms to markets, while easing the burden of energy costs on traders, artisans and small business owners.
“I want a mother to return from the market with more food in her bag. I want a father to pay transport and still have something left in his pocket,” he said.
Atiku also said the ultimate measure of affordability should be the amount of money Nigerians have left after meeting their daily expenses.
“My promise is personal: I want you to feel relief in your pocket, in your home and in your daily life,” he said, concluding: “I will make life affordable again. I will make Nigeria affordable again. It is a promise.”
