Fuel Prices: Presidency Trashes Atiku Over Fuel Prices, Defends Reforms
ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Presidency has launched a scathing attack on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, describing his recent criticisms of the nation’s energy policies as a “seminal example of shallow, election-laced demagoguery.”
In a statehouse press release issued by Special Adviser Sunday Dare, the administration defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s logical economic policies while accusing Atiku of being detached from global economic realities and consumed by an “unbridled lust for power.”
The Dispute Over Fuel Price Modulation
The friction follows a recent press conference where Atiku attacked NNPC Retail’s decision to extend its 30-day discount on petrol prices and criticized the government’s market modulation framework, labeling it a “panic-driven gimmick.”
Defending the strategy, the Presidency clarified that NNPC Retail’s decision to forgo its profit margin is a temporary market-smoothing intervention—initially introduced to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary—and not a return to the corrupt, unbudgeted fuel subsidy regime of the past.
“When NNPC Retail agrees to sell fuel at landing cost for 30 days during an unprecedented global crude price spike, it is leveraging its corporate balance sheet to absorb short-term global volatility, backed directly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Dare stated.
The administration also highlighted the negotiation of an interim ₦1,350 per litre ceiling on ex-gantry costs. This structural shock absorber is designed to prevent rapid, erratic price swings that trigger permanent hikes in commercial transport fares, ensuring greater economic predictability for commuters.
Trashing Atiku’s ‘Production Subsidy’ Alternative
The Presidency dismissed Atiku’s proposed blanket “production subsidy” on crude oil as a “dangerous mathematical fantasy wrapped in political deceit.”
Citing data from the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, the statement noted that while Nigeria produces roughly 1.8 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), international Joint Ventures (JVs) and Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) leave the government with fewer than 700,000 bpd of unencumbered “free crude.”
Because mega-refineries like the Dangote Petroleum Refinery require daily feedstock that far exceeds available state equity, domestic refiners must supplement their operations by importing international crude.
“To propose a blanket ‘targeted production subsidy’ on crude without the physical, unencumbered volume to back it up is pure economic illiteracy,” Dare argued, adding that such a move would invite the opaque fraud and fiscal hemorrhaging that crippled Nigeria for decades.
A Global Perspective on Energy Crises
The statement drew direct comparisons to international leaders managing similar global energy shocks. Referencing the United Kingdom, Dare argued that Prime Minister Andy Burnham has integrated fuel prices into Google Maps so citizens could locate near-real-time competitive pricing at local forecourts. He also cited the United States, where President Donald Trump signed an executive order for “Emergency Tax Relief on Diesel Fuel” and secured a diesel supply deal with Russia to ease domestic pressure.
The Presidency lamented that while global leaders deploy diverse strategies to support their citizens, Atiku “chooses to dance on the sufferings of Nigerians and exploit it for political gains.”
Dividends of the Tinubu Reforms
Reaffirming the administration’s commitment to its long-term economic blueprint, the statehouse release outlined major milestones achieved since May 2023, including the total eradication of multi-day fuel queues and the elimination of currency round-tripping between the official and parallel exchange rates.
By ending the fuel subsidy, the administration insists that record federal allocations are now flowing through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) directly to the 36 states and local governments for healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
