Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, said a plea from Nigeria’s petroleum marketers for government action to curb petrol prices has exposed weaknesses in President Bola Tinubu’s defence of subsidy removal.
Key takeaways
- IPMAN President Abubakar Maigandi urged Tinubu to reach an agreement with Dangote Refinery to lower petrol prices.
- Petrol now sells for about N1,310 to N1,350 per litre following the latest increase at the pump.
- Atiku said domestic refining support could provide relief for consumers and businesses without returning to the former import-subsidy system.
- The ADC candidate has previously advocated restoring fuel subsidies if elected.
- Tinubu’s administration maintains that ending subsidies was required to stabilise Nigeria’s economy.
Atiku backs marketers’ appeal
Atiku made the comments in a statement issued by his media team on Thursday, supporting the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria’s request for federal intervention to bring down fuel costs.
Maigandi, IPMAN’s president, had called on Tinubu to help negotiate an arrangement with Dangote Refinery that would reduce the price of petrol. The appeal followed the latest pump-price increase, which pushed petrol to between N1,310 and N1,350 a litre.
Atiku said the marketers’ position carried particular weight because their members purchase, distribute and sell petroleum products every day. Their direct involvement in the market, he argued, gives them a clearer view than official messaging of the damage high fuel prices are inflicting on Nigerian companies and households.
He said IPMAN had entered the debate later than it should have, but had reached the correct conclusion by recognising that the government could not remain passive while petrol costs continued to burden Nigerians. In his view, targeted support for domestic refining could help reduce prices.
Atiku added that this approach was the same basic policy that Tinubu and members of his administration had spent weeks dismissing. He accused the government of blurring the distinction between opaque subsidies linked to imported fuel and an open, production-based measure designed to strengthen local refining and deliver a clear benefit to consumers.
Competing subsidy positions
Atiku has previously said he would restore fuel subsidies if elected president. The Tinubu administration, however, continues to argue that abolishing the subsidy was essential to putting Nigeria’s economy on a more stable footing.
