- Sunday Dare, special adviser to President Tinubu on media, fired back at Atiku Abubakar over his renewed push to restore fuel subsidy
- The Presidency argued that selling crude to local refineries at preferential prices would punch a hole in the Federation Account
- Dare warned that a price gap between Nigeria and neighbouring countries would revive cross-border fuel smuggling
The Presidency has rejected the fuel subsidy restoration plan put forward by Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) 2027 presidential candidate, describing it as an economic measure that treats symptoms rather than the underlying problem.
Sunday Dare, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on media and public communication, issued the response after Atiku reiterated his position to sell crude oil to domestic refineries at preferential prices as a way to bring down the cost of fuel for Nigerians.
Photo Credit: @atiku, @officialABAT
Source: Twitter
Who pays the bill
Dare argued that selling federation crude below market value would create an immediate gap in the Federation Account.
Revenue that would ordinarily flow to federal, state, and local governments for schools, hospitals, and security would be directly reduced. He described the proposal as a fiscal hole dressed up as policy.
Distorting the domestic market
Beyond the revenue question, the Presidency raised concerns about the structural damage such a policy could cause within the downstream sector. Dare said preferential crude allocations risk handing artificial advantages to certain players, potentially squeezing out smaller indigenous modular refiners.
He also argued that the arrangement would cut against the deregulatory framework established under the Petroleum Industry Act, which was designed to open the sector to competition rather than entrench state-directed pricing.
The return of smuggling
The Presidency further warned that any policy creating a significant gap between Nigerian pump prices and those in neighbouring West African countries would inevitably revive cross-border fuel arbitrage. Dare said that regardless of whatever audit or monitoring mechanisms Atiku may promise, the economic incentive to smuggle subsidised fuel across borders has historically been too strong to contain through oversight alone.
He concluded that the proposal amounts to applying painkillers to a festering wound, offering short-term relief while leaving the deeper structural problems in Nigeria’s energy sector unaddressed.
Atiku Abubakar resigned from the African Democratic Congress on May 2, 2026, and was ratified as the NDC presidential candidate on May 29, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
See the full statement of Sunday Dare on X here:
Peter Obi backs subsidy removal
Legit.ng earlier reported that Peter Obi reaffirmed his support for petrol subsidy removal at a Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt on Monday.
The NDC presidential candidate accused the current administration of failing to channel the N16 trillion subsidy savings into public welfare.
Obi’s remarks came as rival Atiku Abubakar reversed his own 2023 position, saying he would restore the petrol subsidy if elected in 2027.
Source: Legit.ng