By Henry Umoru
ABUJA — The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has faulted the Federal Government’s warning that a return to petrol subsidy could push the naira to between N3,000 and N4,000 per dollar, demanding explanations for the failure of the country’s refineries to operate effectively.
The party also questioned why Nigeria had mortgaged a sizeable portion of its crude oil to secure foreign loans, alleging that the arrangement had affected the country’s ability to supply the Dangote Refinery with sufficient crude oil to meet domestic demand.
The NDC’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, made the remarks while reacting to comments by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, who warned against a return to petrol subsidy.
Oyedele had said reinstating the subsidy could trigger capital flight, undermine investor confidence and weaken the naira to N3,000, N3,500 or even N4,000 to the dollar.
In response, Director said the government should address the underlying problems in the petroleum sector rather than focus solely on the potential consequences of restoring the subsidy.
“The most important aspect of the subsidy conversation is not yet addressed. Why are our refineries not working? Why did the APC government mortgage a sizeable portion of our crude oil to take foreign loans to the extent that we are unable to supply Dangote Refinery the needed crude oil to satisfy domestic consumption and demand?” he asked.
He argued that addressing the challenges affecting domestic refining and what he described as criminality in the subsidy regime would make the minister’s warning unnecessary.
“If all these and the criminality in the subsidy regime are addressed, the doomsday prediction of the Minister of Finance would not be necessary,” Director said.
Oyedele had issued the warning during a press briefing at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.
The minister said investors had repeatedly questioned whether the Federal Government would abandon its economic reforms ahead of the next election cycle.
He added that President Bola Tinubu had maintained that the national budget had made no provision for petrol subsidy since June 2023, insisting that the subsidy had therefore been removed.
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