Social Democratic Party presidential candidate Prince Adewole Adebayo has argued that crude oil lost or not properly accounted for in Nigeria could have financed a petrol subsidy that would keep pump prices at N200 per litre.
Oil losses and domestic fuel pricing
Adebayo made the remarks on Sunday while speaking with journalists in Abuja, saying Nigerians should not be required to pay global-market prices for petrol and other petroleum products in a country that produces crude oil.
He said Nigeria’s position among the world’s significant oil producers should enable it to supply locally refined fuel to its population at prices ordinary consumers can afford.
- He said charging domestic consumers international prices for petroleum products, despite Nigeria’s own crude reserves, was both “wicked and irresponsible”.
- He maintained that the value of crude oil stolen or left unaccounted for could have funded a subsidy that reduced petrol prices to N200 per litre rather than international-rate levels.
- He argued that oil extracted from Nigerian territory should provide an economic benefit to Nigerians, especially when associated gas is being flared within the country.
“Any government that tells you that we should buy petrol in Nigeria at international market rates is lying. It is wicked and irresponsible,” Adebayo said.
He questioned why Nigerians should pay prices comparable to those faced by consumers in countries such as China or Australia, which do not produce crude oil, while many Nigerian households do not earn incomes at international levels.
Subsidy issue returns to political debate
Adebayo’s intervention has revived arguments around petrol subsidies as political parties prepare for the 2027 presidential election.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, speaking at a campaign rally in Kaduna on Saturday, restated that the petrol subsidy had been permanently removed and urged Nigerians not to be misled on the issue.
Opposition calls and pressure on households
Other opposition figures have also pressed for the restoration of the subsidy, including Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, or ADC.
Petrol is currently sold in Abuja at between N1,370 and N1,429 per litre, a price range that has added to living-cost pressures for many residents.
