The African Democratic Congress has renewed its call for production subsidies, arguing that such support is necessary to ease hardship among low-income Nigerians.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s national publicity secretary, outlined the position on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today. He said the country’s poorest citizens should not be denied subsidy support.
Quick facts
- The ADC says it would support subsidies aimed at lowering production costs.
- Abdullahi cited the NNPC audit report as evidence that would become clearer to Nigerians in coming days.
- He said Nigeria’s status as an oil producer should help it supply lower-cost fuel domestically.
- The party linked its approach to Atiku’s pledge to protect citizens “by all means necessary.”
Addressing the debate over fuel subsidies, Abdullahi said the ADC’s proposal was not simply to restore consumer support but to reduce costs at the production stage. “We cannot have people so poor and leave them without subsidy,” he said.
“So, we are going to subsidise production,” he added, saying the party intended to examine the matter further. Abdullahi said he welcomed findings emerging from the NNPC audit report and expected Nigerians to see more in the days ahead.
He also addressed the question of crude supply, saying Nigeria has the advantage of being an oil-producing nation. The country should take whatever steps are needed to support crude production and make cheaper fuel available to domestic consumers, he said.
Abdullahi compared the economic situation to a country facing war, where the priority is national defence rather than the cost of weapons or ammunition. The ADC and Atiku, he said, would protect the public “by all means necessary.”
