Atiku Reaffirms Subsidy Pledge, Disowns Aide’s Conflicting Position

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has reaffirmed his commitment to restoring petrol subsidy if elected in 2027, distancing himself from remarks by one of his media aides that appeared to suggest a gradual withdrawal of the policy.

Atiku restated his position on Tuesday while receiving the Osun State leadership of the ADC in Abuja, making it clear that his position on fuel subsidy should not be interpreted through statements made by his spokespersons.

“Earlier, one of my press aides contradicted me in a policy statement as far as subsidy is concerned.

“I want to repeat categorically that when I said I would return to subsidy, I will! Nigeria is rich enough to look after the welfare of its citizens. Let it be clearly stated that he was not speaking on my own authority,” Atiku said.

The clarification followed comments by his media aide, Paul Ibe, during an interview on AIT, where he said an Atiku administration would restore petrol subsidy if elected but would eventually phase out the intervention as economic conditions improved.

Atiku subsequently reinforced his position in a statement published on his X account.

“On the question of subsidy, my position has not changed and will not change: I will restore it! A nation as blessed as ours has no business abandoning its citizens to hardship. Nigeria is rich enough to look after her own.

“I believe the wealth of a nation is not measured by how much government collects, but by how much the money in the pockets of its people can buy.

“I want wages to have value again. I want farmers to move produce without transport swallowing their profits. I want families to fill their baskets without emptying their pockets. I want businesses to produce, employ and prosper.

“That is why I will restore targeted subsidy and put purchasing power back in the hands of Nigerians.

“When fuel rises, transport rises. When transport rises, food rises. When food rises, families suffer. I will break that wretched chain that has defined our national life in the nearly four years of Tinubu’s presidency.

“I will support Nigerian production, reduce energy costs and restore purchasing power. I will not restore the import racket; I will restore relief.

“I restated this commitment when I received the Osun State leadership of the ADC in Abuja on Tuesday. I will make the naira in your pocket worth more, make daily living affordable again, and secure our people. That is the Nigeria I intend to build.”

Atiku’s campaign subsequently sought to distinguish his proposal from Nigeria’s former petrol subsidy arrangement, insisting that his plan would focus on domestic production rather than subsidising imported fuel.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president’s camp said the proposed intervention would be capped, transparent and linked to domestic refining.

“For the avoidance of doubt, policy belongs to the candidate, not the spokesperson.

“Our responsibility as communicators is to explain Atiku’s position accurately, not create formulations capable of confusing Nigerians or handing opponents convenient talking points,” Shaibu said.

According to him, the proposal would involve a “targeted, capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited subsidy,” designed to support domestic refining and production.

Rather than setting a fixed date for its termination, Shaibu said the intervention would gradually become unnecessary as Nigeria’s refining capacity and fuel supply improved.

“There is no arbitrary withdrawal date. As domestic refining expands, supply stabilises, competition deepens, and the market becomes capable of delivering affordable prices without government support, the intervention progressively becomes unnecessary,” he added.

He compared the proposed policy to temporary infrastructure used during construction.

“You do not remove scaffolding because the calendar says so. You remove it when the building can stand securely on its own,” he said.

The renewed clarification places fuel subsidy firmly among the major economic issues likely to shape the 2027 presidential contest.

President Bola Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, a move that was followed by a sharp increase in petrol prices and intensified concerns over the rising cost of living.

The Tinubu administration has consistently defended the decision as necessary to improve government finances, create fiscal space and attract investment. Atiku, however, has argued that the hardship experienced by Nigerians demonstrates the need for a different approach.

His proposal now centres on targeted intervention aimed at reducing the cost of domestically produced petroleum products while avoiding what his campaign described as the leakages associated with the previous import-based system.

Shaibu said the policy would be judged by its ability to reduce the cost of living rather than by an arbitrary timetable for withdrawal.

“The real question is simple: Why has everything become so expensive, and what will Atiku do to make life affordable again?” he asked.

He accused the Tinubu administration of transferring the burden of its reforms to households and businesses.

“Tinubu transferred the shock of his reforms to Nigerian families.

“Atiku will reduce production and transportation costs, strengthen domestic refining, and restore purchasing power.

“The choice is not removal of subsidy versus restoration of subsidy. It is Expensive Nigeria versus Affordable Nigeria,” Shaibu said.

Despite Atiku’s decision to disown his earlier formulation, Ibe’s AIT interview provided details of how the proposed subsidy could operate.

He said government support would be linked to crude oil production and domestic refining, rather than the importation of petrol.

“What he’s simply saying is that the subsidy that he is advocating will be tied to the barrel, the crude oil barrel. This is perhaps the only thing that we have in so much abundance that Nigerians have not yet benefited from,” Ibe said.

Under the proposal, crude oil would be supplied to domestic refiners at a discounted price, allowing them to produce petroleum products at lower costs.

“The crude oil will be sold at a discounted price, subsidised to refiners, and that will enable refiners to be able to produce fuel and diesel at a cheap cost. And when they produce cheaply, they will sell at the real pump price,” he said.

Ibe said an independent committee would determine the appropriate crude price while taking prevailing market conditions into consideration.

He also acknowledged that downstream deregulation would make direct price fixing difficult but argued that government could still monitor market prices.

“There’ll be a window because, of course, we deregulated. You may not fix the price, but you can have price monitoring to ensure that everybody aligns with what government hopes to achieve,” he said.

According to Ibe, the intervention would be temporary and intended to revive economic activity.

“It is not something that is… It is for a time, and it is essentially to ensure that we jumpstart this economy,” he said.

Ibe also criticised the manner in which the Tinubu administration implemented its major economic reforms, particularly the simultaneous removal of petrol subsidy and foreign exchange reforms.

He argued that the economy should have been allowed to adjust between major policy changes.

“No surgeon, no doctor would carry out two or more serious major surgeries, one after the other. They would do one, allow the patient to recuperate, and then undertake the second, or the third.

“But what has this administration done? The issue of subsidy, flippant. No cabinet. No advisers. Just in the heat of the moment, it has been removed. No shock absorbers. Nothing. No palliatives. Absolutely nothing,” Ibe said.

He argued that the combination of petrol subsidy removal, foreign exchange liberalisation and electricity subsidy reforms had compounded the economic pressure confronting Nigerians.

With Atiku now personally restating his position, the ADC campaign has sought to present subsidy restoration not as a return to the old import-dependent model, but as a targeted production-support policy designed to reduce energy costs, revive purchasing power and make domestic refining more competitive.