The spokesperson to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe,has said an Atiku administration would temporarily reintroduce petrol subsidy if the former vice-president wins the 2027 presidential election.
Ibe said the proposed policy would serve as a short-term economic intervention designed to give households and businesses time to adjust to prevailing economic conditions before the subsidy is eventually phased out.
Atiku’s Plan Not a Return to Old Subsidy Regime
According to Ibe, Atiku does not intend to return Nigeria to the subsidy arrangement of the past.
Instead, he said the proposal would involve leveraging Nigeria’s crude oil resources to support domestic refining and reduce the cost of petroleum products for consumers.
The measure, he explained, would form part of a broader approach to addressing the impact of high fuel prices on households and businesses.
Independent Committee to Determine Refinery Price
Ibe disclosed that an independent committee would be established to determine an appropriate refinery price based on prevailing market realities.
He said this would help ensure that the pricing framework reflects actual conditions in the petroleum sector while supporting affordability for consumers.
Atiku Camp Defends Government Role in Deregulated Sector
While acknowledging that Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector had been deregulated, Ibe argued that deregulation did not prevent the government from monitoring market prices.
He maintained that government intervention could still be used to ensure that the policy delivers its intended objectives and protects Nigerians from excessive economic hardship.
The proposed temporary subsidy would therefore be presented as a transitional measure, rather than a permanent return to the previous fuel subsidy regime.
VIDEO NEWS: Atiku will remove fuel subsidy, but it will only be for a while- Paul Ibe, Atiku’s Spokesman pic.twitter.com/0fB0TWCiwn
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