JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
The council of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Camping has asked the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate to provide the legal and fiscal basis for his petrol subsidy proposal.
According to Council spokesperson Dele Alake, the proposal raises legal, practical and fiscal questions that require answers.
Alake said: “Section 205(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 provides that unrestricted free market conditions will determine wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, in a statement on Saturday, explained that it does not set pump prices or issue administrative pricing templates, except where legal conditions for intervention are met. The PIA provisions guide its function. At present, “No failure of the market has been declared.”
He said Atiku would then have to explain whether a refinery receiving the proposed subsidy would be required to sell petrol at a prescribed price.
“If the answer is yes, it should identify the legal framework under which the Government would impose such a price condition and explain how it would work in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act.
“If the answer is no, it should explain how public support for refineries would ensure lower prices at service stations. Without an enforcement mechanism, refiners could receive the benefit while consumers continue to pay market prices.
“Atiku must also reveal the cost of his proposal and how he will finance it.
Alake said Atiku’s earlier statement suggested that intervention could take the form of preferentially priced crude oil for domestic refineries. Any discount on crude oil would reduce the value owed to the Federation and, consequently, the revenues available to federal, state and local governments, re-triggering the fiscal crisis that left 27 states unable to pay salaries and pensions before President Tinubu took office in 2023.
“Based on publicly reported refinery performance and domestic oil supply data, the cost of the new subsidy could be as high as $17 or $21 trillion annually, depending on the size of the rebate, the volume covered, and whether the support applies to the entire barrel or just gasoline sold domestically.
“These assumptions must be clearly defined. Nigerians deserve to know:
1. the proposed subsidy rate;
2. the annual spending ceiling;
3. the volume of crude oil or gasoline to be covered;
4. the source of financing;
5. the mechanism that guarantees lower prices at the pump;
6. protections against diversion, smuggling and fraudulent claims; AND
7. Whether changes to the Petroleum Industry Law would be necessary.
“An appropriation by the National Assembly may authorize expenditure, but it alone would not resolve all regulatory issues arising from the Petroleum Industry Act. If Atiku intends to change the law, he should say so clearly.
“His latest position must also be reconciled with his previous support for downstream deregulation. In November 2022, at the Lagos Business School, Atiku described the petrol subsidy system as fraudulent and pledged to complete its removal. He reminded his audience that he chaired the committee that removed the first and second phases, and promised to complete the process. On 25 August 2026, he announced on X: “I will bring it back!”
“He must explain why he now supports restoring subsidies in another form and how his proposal would avoid the abuses, shortages, smuggling and tax losses associated with the old system.
“Deregulation of the downstream oil sector began under the Obasanjo-Atiku administration. Diesel, which powers food trucks, generators and factories, was deregulated in June 2003. Aviation fuel also moved to market prices under the same administration. The Buhari administration deregulated kerosene in 2016. Gasoline was the last major product retained under the old subsidy regime, which was due to end in June 2023 based on the PIA.
‘Nigeria spent about two decades developing the PIA. The reform process began in 2000, during the first term of the administration in which Atiku served as vice president. It should then explain how its new proposal aligns with the legal and regulatory framework that has emerged from that process.
“President Tinubu’s administration has instead focused on expanding low-cost alternatives through compressed natural gas and electric mass transit. These programs are already reducing transportation costs on routes served by CNG and electric buses, while vehicle conversions and supporting infrastructure continue to expand nationwide.
“The government has converted more than 120,000 vehicles to CNG, with thousands more converted privately. The administration is working with state governments to extend these savings nationwide.
“In his statement on Saturday, President Tinubu recalled the program agreed with the governors of the 36 states on August 27:
“From October 1, more Nigerians should begin to see measurable reductions in transportation costs.”
“Commuters in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory are already paying between 31 and 83 per cent less on routes served by CNG and electric buses.
“In Borno state, services cost between ₦50 and ₦100 on routes where commercial operators charge between ₦300 and ₦600. Passengers on the Suleja-Abuja service in Niger state pay ₦550 instead of around ₦800. Kaduna’s free CNG buses carried more than 1.4 million passengers in five months of 2025, saving residents approximately ₦1.39 billion in tariffs.
“Alternative energy transport in Adamawa State has reduced fares by up to 50%, while Abia State has implemented 40 electric buses and 20 charging stations.
“Instead, Atiku is touching Nigeria’s past with another subsidy program that will especially enrich traffickers. He has not yet told Nigerians how much it will cost or under what law it will operate.
“President Tinubu urges Nigerians to ignore politicians who want to return the country to the era of subsidies, a path that leads to mounting debt, petrol queues, payments pocketed by smugglers and cheap Nigerian fuel subsidized throughout West Africa.
“Nigeria will continue to move forward with a deregulated market that has supported increased investment in domestic refining. The Dangote oil refinery has reached its nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and reportedly reached 700,000 barrels per day during performance tests. The company has also launched an initial public offering targeted at ₦2.1 trillion for the expansion.
“The APC-PCC recognizes the pressure that rising gasoline prices place on Nigerian families. The Tinubu administration will continue to implement policies that support our people. Gasoline sold at around ₦830 per liter before the crisis in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices above $100 a barrel. An easing of the crisis could help reduce crude oil prices and, by extension, pump prices of gasoline and diesel, not only in Nigeria, but in around the world. The NMDPRA is working with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission against price gouging and with the Nigeria Customs Service against the diversion of petroleum products across our borders.
“The APC-PCC believes that any proposed intervention in the downstream sector must be legal, transparent, adequately cost-effective and capable of providing 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 will remain a gratuitous promise without a clearly identified legal or operational framework.
“It will also qualify as one of those fantasies and policy options anchored in what President Olusegun Obasanjo described in his book, My Watch, as Atiku’s “propensity for poor judgment.”
“To begin with, we recommend Atiku to read the PIA, as it seems out of touch with the reality and current dynamics of the oil sector.”
Post views:
149
