Subsidy: There’ll Be Safeguards Against Fraud, Diversion – Atiku

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said his proposed production subsidy model would come with strict safeguards.

Atiku had promised to return the fuel subsidy regime removed by President Bola Tinubu, if elected president next year, but explained that it would be a production-based subsidy.

The former vice president, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the safeguards would be to monitor the maximum support level per barrel, independent verification of supported crude, electronic tracking of crude intake and refined output, domestic-supply obligations, transparent pricing, independent audits and severe penalties for diversion or fraud.

“We will know how many barrels received support, which refinery receives them, what is produced, what it costs the taxpayer and what benefit Nigerians receive,” he stated.

He described the presidency’s attempt to equate every subsidy with import dependence as a distortion, designed to mislead Nigerians in the policy debate.

Atiku said his subsidy would be tied strictly to crude refined in Nigeria.

“Nigerian refineries will benefit. Nigerian workers will benefit. Nigerian businesses will benefit. Nigerian consumers will benefit. If you do not refine in Nigeria, you do not qualify,” he explained.

According to him, his policy is a production subsidy model, not an import subsidy model.

“The difference is simple enough for every Nigerian to understand.

“Import subsidy spends public money supporting petrol refined abroad and brought into Nigeria.

“Production subsidy supports crude refined here in Nigeria so that Nigerian refineries can produce fuel more cheaply and Nigerians can pay less.

“We are restoring subsidy, but moving it from importation to production.

“The subsidy follows the barrel refined in Nigeria,” he added.

The former vice president said his administration would not fix an arbitrary pump price of petrol and compel domestic refineries to carry the financial burden, adding that if government wants to provide additional relief beyond what lower crude-input costs could sustainably deliver, it must pay for that relief openly.

“It must be budgeted. It must be capped. It must be audited. Nigerians must know exactly what is being spent and what they are receiving in return,” he stated.

Atiku said Nigeria’s refining future would depend heavily on private capital and assured that the commercial viability of domestic refineries would be protected.

“Dangote Refinery, modular refineries and other Nigerian investments must remain viable. We want more refineries, more investment, more competition and more refining capacity,” he said, promising that the Nigerian consumer would also benefit because Nigeria is an oil-producing country.

The ADC candidate accused President Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government of turning hardship into an ideology and calling it reform.

Atiku stated that the presidency’s reaction to Dangote’s disclosure showed how desperate the government had become to defend an economic model that had made everyday life painfully expensive for millions of Nigerians.

He noted that Dangote raised concerns about margins, price controls and policy uncertainty, but the presidency said that would collapse the economy.

“A refinery warning that it should not be forced to sell at a loss is not the same as saying that government must never support domestic production,” Atiku said.