The APC Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to explain the legal and fiscal basis of his proposed “production subsidy” for locally refined petrol, warning that the plan could cost Nigeria as much as N17 to N21 trillion annually.
In a press statement issued on Sunday and signed by its spokesman, Dele Alake, the council said Atiku’s proposal, made at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, raises “important legal, fiscal and practical questions that he must answer.” Atiku had proposed a production subsidy for locally refined petrol which he said would reduce pump prices, and urged President Bola Tinubu to slash the cost of diesel and petrol at the pump.
The APC-PCC cited Section 205(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which provides that unrestricted free-market conditions shall determine wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products. It noted that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) had stated it neither fixes pump prices nor issues administrative price templates except where statutory conditions for intervention are met, adding that “no such market failure has been declared.”
The council asked Atiku to state whether a refinery receiving his proposed subsidy would be required to sell petrol at a prescribed price. If yes, he should identify the legal framework for imposing that price condition and explain how it would operate consistently with the PIA. If no, he should explain how public support to refiners would guarantee lower prices at filling stations, noting that without an enforceable mechanism, refiners could receive the benefit while consumers continued to pay market prices.
The APC-PCC demanded that Atiku disclose the cost of his proposal and how he would fund it. It warned that any discount on crude would reduce the value accruing to the Federation and, consequently, revenue available to the federal, state and local governments, “triggering afresh the fiscal crisis that made 27 states unable to pay salaries and pensions before President Tinubu assumed office in 2023.” Based on publicly reported refinery throughput and domestic petrol-supply figures, the council estimated the cost of the new subsidy could run as high as N17 or N21 trillion annually, depending on the discount size, the volume covered, and whether the support applies to the entire barrel or only to petrol sold domestically.
It listed seven questions Nigerians deserve answers to: the proposed subsidy rate; the annual spending ceiling; the volume of crude or petrol to be covered; the source of funding; the mechanism guaranteeing lower pump prices; safeguards against diversion, smuggling and fraudulent claims; and whether amendments to the PIA would be required.
The council noted that Atiku’s latest position must be reconciled with his previous support for downstream deregulation. It recalled that in November 2022 at the Lagos Business School, Atiku described the petrol subsidy system as fraudulent and pledged to complete its removal, reminding his audience that he chaired the committee that removed its first and second phases. On 25 August 2026, he announced on X, “I will restore it!” The APC-PCC asked him to explain why he now advocates restoring subsidy in another form, and how his arrangement would avoid the abuse, scarcity, smuggling and fiscal losses associated with the old system.
The council said President Tinubu’s administration has instead focused on expanding lower-cost alternatives through compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric mass transit. It said over 120,000 vehicles have been converted to CNG, with thousands more converted privately. It cited savings already recorded: in Borno State, services charge between N50 and N100 on routes where commercial operators charge between N300 and N600; passengers on the Suleja–Abuja service in Niger State pay N550 instead of about N800; Kaduna’s free CNG buses carried more than 1.4 million passengers in five months of 2025, saving residents an estimated N1.39 billion in fares. Alternative-energy transport in Adamawa State has reduced fares by as much as 50 per cent, while Abia State has deployed 40 electric buses and 20 charging stations.
The council noted that deregulation of the downstream sector began under the Obasanjo-Atiku administration, with diesel deregulated in June 2003 and aviation fuel moving to market pricing under the same administration, while kerosene was deregulated in 2016. It said every proposed intervention in the downstream sector must be lawful, transparent, properly costed and capable of delivering measurable benefits to consumers.
The council concluded that Atiku should provide Nigerians with a detailed policy document and an independent legal and fiscal analysis of his proposal, adding that until he does so, “his production-subsidy plan remains an uncosted promise without a clearly identified legal or operational framework.” They also recommended that Atiku read the PIA, saying he “appears out of touch with reality and the oil sector’s current dynamics.”