‘Tinubu’s Fuel Price Modulation Not Return to Subsidy,’ Presidency Tells Atiku

The Presidency has defended President Bola Tinubu’s 30-day petrol discount initiative, insisting that the intervention does not amount to a restoration of fuel subsidy, while warning that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s proposed production subsidy could expose Nigeria to severe fiscal risks.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, stated this in a statement issued on Sunday, October 11, 2026, in response to Atiku’s criticism of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPC) petrol discount initiative.

Atiku had criticised the intervention, describing the government’s approach as a “panic-driven gimmick” and questioning its effectiveness in providing lasting relief to Nigerians struggling with rising petrol prices.

However, Dare described the former vice president’s position as “shallow, election-laced demagoguery,” accusing him of exploiting the economic hardship faced by Nigerians for political gains.

The presidential aide maintained that the administration’s approach was a market-smoothing mechanism designed to cushion the impact of global crude oil price volatility rather than a return to the subsidy regime abolished in May 2023.

He explained that NNPC Retail’s decision to forgo its profit margin and sell petrol at landing cost for 30 days was intended to absorb short-term market shocks without imposing additional, unbudgeted expenditure on the Federal Government.

“When NNPC Retail agrees to sell fuel at landing cost for 30 days during an unprecedented global crude price spike, it is not writing checks to opaque import cartels,” Dare said.

He added that the initiative leveraged NNPC Retail’s corporate balance sheet to provide temporary relief, with the backing of Tinubu.

The Presidency also defended the proposed interim ceiling of ₦1,350 per litre on petrol ex-gantry costs, describing it as a mechanism for moderating price volatility rather than imposing price controls.

Under the framework, Dare explained, refiners and importers would absorb costs exceeding the ceiling and recover the shortfall later when global crude prices declined or exchange-rate adjustments permitted.

He argued that the arrangement would provide greater predictability for households and businesses, noting that sudden increases in petrol prices often trigger transport fare hikes that are rarely reversed when fuel prices subsequently fall.

On Atiku’s proposed production subsidy, the presidential aide argued that Nigeria lacked sufficient unencumbered crude oil volumes to sustain such an intervention without undermining government revenue or existing contractual obligations.

Dare cited figures attributed to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stating that Nigeria produced approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil per day but had fewer than 700,000 barrels daily in unencumbered crude available to the state after accounting for contractual and statutory obligations.

He said that production-sharing contracts and joint-venture arrangements, alongside production costs, royalties and profit-oil sharing, limited the volume of crude the government could freely allocate.

Dare pointed out that domestic refineries, including the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, also require substantial volumes of crude oil, making it difficult for the government to guarantee sufficient supplies for a blanket production subsidy without disrupting existing commitments or reducing national revenue.

Consequently, he described Atiku’s proposal as “a dangerous mathematical fantasy wrapped in political deceit,” arguing that it could recreate the opacity, fraudulent practices, and fiscal pressures associated with the former subsidy regime.

The presidential aide further rejected comparisons between crude oil allocation and locally produced agricultural commodities such as garri and cassava, saying such analogies failed to account for the contractual and commercial complexities of international energy markets.

Dare also cited the United States and Qatar as examples in arguing that substantial energy resources do not automatically translate into unlimited capacity to subsidise domestic consumption.

Beyond the petrol discount, he mentioned that the Tinubu administration was pursuing other measures to address energy-price volatility and reduce the economic burden on households and businesses.

These include expanding Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) infrastructure, promoting naira-for-crude arrangements to reduce exposure to foreign-exchange volatility, establishing a national strategic fuel reserve, and improving logistics through NIPOST digital address codes.

He also defended the administration’s broader economic reforms, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market, arguing that the measures were necessary to address longstanding fiscal distortions.

According to Dare, the reforms had increased allocations to state and local governments through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) while ending the prolonged fuel queues associated with previous periods of scarcity.

He further pointed to government-backed social support measures, including cash transfers to vulnerable households, credit support for small businesses, and wage assistance for civil servants, as part of efforts to cushion the impact of economic adjustments.

The presidential aide maintained that the administration’s strategy was focused on combining market-based pricing with targeted interventions to manage temporary shocks, rather than returning to a blanket subsidy system.

Dare emphasised that restoring broad-based subsidies without a sustainable funding mechanism could undermine the gains of the ongoing reforms and expose the country to renewed fiscal pressure.

He further stated that Nigeria’s economic challenges required structural solutions rather than temporary measures driven by political considerations.

He reiterated that the administration’s policies were aimed at laying the foundation for long-term economic stability and growth.

ThelensNG