Why ADC plans to restore petrol subsidy – Spokesperson

Nigeria’s opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said it will subsidise domestic crude oil production to reduce petrol prices if it wins the 2027 presidential election, arguing that Nigerians are too poor to bear the full cost of petroleum products under market forces.

The National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had removed fuel subsidy without adequately preparing Nigerians for the resulting economic hardship.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Mr Abdullahi said the ADC, under its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, would prioritise reducing the cost of living rather than leaving citizens to absorb the full impact of market-driven prices.

“Nigerians are too poor to be left to market forces. We cannot have people so poor and leave them without subsidy,” he said.

He said the party’s proposed approach would focus on subsidising crude oil production and making the commodity available to domestic refineries at lower costs, rather than returning to the previous system of subsidising petrol consumption.

“Whatever we need to do to subsidise the production of crude and make it cheap and deliver it to the people of Nigeria, we are going to do it,” he said.

Mr Abdullahi argued that the government had a responsibility to protect citizens from economic hardship, likening the need for intervention to a country defending itself during wartime.

He criticised the Tinubu administration for transferring the burden of economic reforms to Nigerians without providing sufficient protection against rising living costs.

The ADC spokesperson also questioned the government’s spending priorities, citing the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as an example of a project he considered unnecessary amid widespread economic hardship.

He argued that Nigeria should not be compared with countries such as the United States without considering the public services available to their citizens, particularly affordable education and a more developed public transport system.

Mr Abdullahi said the quality of public education in Nigeria had declined, forcing many families to turn to private schools for better education.

He recalled that Nigeria introduced universal basic education in 1999 as a free and compulsory programme, but argued the system has become less effective over time.

The spokesperson asked the government to prioritise policies that directly improve citizens’ living conditions instead of pursuing projects that do not adequately address their immediate needs.

ADC criticises finance minister

Mr Abdullahi also criticised the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, saying that Nigeria needed an economist with the appropriate training to manage the country’s economic challenges.

“We need a serious-minded economist who has gone to school to fix the economy,” he said.

He argued that an accountant’s approach to economic policy differs from an economist’s, particularly when decisions involve questions of economic ideology and development.

The criticism came amid a dispute over the federal government’s recently announced 30-day petrol price discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) retail outlets.

The government has said the discount does not amount to a return of fuel subsidy, arguing that the NNPCL would bear the cost through reduced retail prices rather than public funding.

The ADC has maintained that government intervention is necessary to reduce fuel costs, with its proposed model centred on supporting domestic production.

2027 election will be APC versus Nigerians

Mr Abdullahi said Atiku would make life more affordable for Nigerians, adding that international crude oil prices alone do not determine the cost of petrol at filling stations.

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He said the ADC’s economic proposals would focus on reducing production costs and easing the pressure of rising prices on households.

When asked about the exchange rate during the interview, Mr Abdullahi said he lacked the technical expertise to discuss the issue in detail. Still, he insisted his party would pursue policies to reduce the cost of living.

He also defended Atiku’s decision to make economic hardship a central issue in the debate ahead of the 2027 general election.

Mr Abdullahi predicted the election would pit the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against Nigerians dissatisfied with the government’s economic policies.

“Nigerians are saying they can’t continue with the government, and that’s why we are saying 2027 is going to be between the people and the APC,” he said.