Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of using Dangote Refinery’s commercial dispute as part of its political messaging.
Atiku’s response to the refinery dispute
In a statement released on Friday by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Dangote Refinery was justified in objecting to any policy that required a privately owned facility to sell fuel at government-set prices while bearing the resulting losses. He nevertheless accused the Presidency of misrepresenting his proposal by suggesting it would impose that burden on the refinery.
Atiku argued that a facility built with billions of dollars in private investment could not reasonably be ordered to operate below cost for an unlimited period. Such a policy, he said, would be financially damaging, irresponsible and unfair to private investors.
He said the criticism had been turned into a political warning campaign, even though his proposed subsidy framework would work differently from the system previously used to support imported petrol.
Production-based subsidy proposal
Atiku said his plan would revive fuel subsidies through domestic production rather than imports. Under an import subsidy, public funds reduce the price of petrol processed overseas and shipped into Nigeria. A production subsidy, by contrast, would help Nigerian refineries lower their costs, enabling consumers to pay less while keeping more economic activity within the country.
He compared the approach with policies aimed at reducing the price of rice. The government could either spend money making foreign rice cheaper or assist domestic farmers in cutting production costs. The latter option, he said, would reduce prices while supporting employment, local companies and economic activity at home.
Atiku said the same principle should apply to fuel. Subsidy support would be attached to crude processed in Nigeria, rather than to overseas refineries, importers or intermediaries. In his formulation, the financial assistance would support Nigerian production and allow locally refined fuel to reach consumers at a lower price.
Atiku had previously called for the restoration of fuel subsidies. The proposal has been opposed by Tinubu, described in the statement as the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, as well as by Peter Obi.
