Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has questioned the Federal Government’s claim that petrol subsidy has been removed, alleging that the administration continues to extend substantial fiscal incentives to oil companies while Nigerians bear the brunt of high fuel prices.
Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, made the remarks in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
He argued that the government’s decision to withdraw petrol subsidy was difficult to reconcile with its continued use of tax credits, concessions and other incentives to encourage investment in the petroleum industry.
According to Atiku, the government had presented subsidy removal to Nigerians as an unavoidable measure required to revive the economy and reduce pressure on public finances.
He, however, alleged that the administration adopts a different approach when dealing with major oil investors.
“Nigerians were told there was no alternative and that enduring this pain was the necessary price of economic reform. But when major oil investors knock on Tinubu’s door, the sermon changes,” he said.
Atiku cited the incentives available under the government’s deep offshore oil and gas projects framework, saying eligible projects could receive production tax credits ranging from $3 to $4.50 per barrel.
He said additional incentives could, under certain conditions, push the total benefit to as much as $11.50 per barrel.
The former vice-president therefore questioned why government intervention in the economy was considered undesirable when it benefited ordinary Nigerians but was acceptable when extended to investors.
“So, what exactly is Tinubu’s objection: government intervention itself, or government intervention for Nigerians?” he asked.
Atiku also relied on figures from the audited accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to challenge the government’s position on subsidy removal.
He said the accounts recorded about N4.84 trillion in energy-security expenses and related shortfalls in 2023, rising to about N7.13 trillion in 2024.
According to him, NNPCL attributed part of the expenditure to the gap between the exchange rate used in determining the regulated PMS ex-coastal price and the exchange rate applicable when import obligations were eventually settled.
Atiku said the figures raised questions about the extent to which subsidy had actually been eliminated.
“If Nigerians were paying market prices because ‘subsidy is gone’, why was the Federation still carrying trillions of naira in under-recovery and energy-security costs?” he asked.
He argued that changing the terminology used to describe the expenditure did not alter its effect on public finances.
“Nigerians do not eat semantics. Whether the government calls it subsidy, under-recovery, shortfall or energy security, public resources were being used to bridge a gap between economic cost and the price at which petrol was sold,” Atiku said.
‘We’re not returning to old subsidy system’
Atiku also sought to distinguish his proposed intervention from the subsidy regime that existed before its removal.
He said his economic recovery programme would not restore an open-ended or opaque subsidy arrangement.
Instead, he proposed a targeted and capped intervention that would be transparently budgeted and independently audited.
He said the policy would be tied to increased domestic petroleum production and supported by measures aimed at expanding refining capacity, strengthening competition and improving household purchasing power.
“You cannot subsidise capital and criminalise relief for citizens. You cannot offer cushions upstairs and call suffering downstairs reform,” he said.
The ADC candidate further demanded greater disclosure of petroleum-sector tax credits, remissions and other fiscal incentives.
He called on the government to publish the beneficiaries of the incentives, the revenue forgone and the investments delivered in exchange for them.
Atiku also argued that Nigerian investors should be given equal and transparent access to comparable incentives.
He said economic reforms should be assessed by their impact on citizens’ welfare and living standards, rather than by the amount of hardship imposed on the population.
The former vice-president said his economic plan would seek to balance a functioning market and reasonable returns for investors with fiscal responsibility and improved welfare for Nigerians.
Atiku had last week said he would restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.
President Bola Tinubu subsequently criticised the proposal, describing the ADC presidential candidate as “ignorant of governance and the economy.”
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