*Photo: Alhaji Atiku Abubakar*
The Presidency has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore petrol subsidy if elected president, describing the position as a reversal of his previous stance and a policy that could undermine Nigeria’s ongoing petroleum-sector reforms.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the position known in a statement on Thursday titled, “Restoring Petrol Subsidies: Atiku’s Volte-Face and Desperation for Power.”
Onanuga said Atiku, who had previously advocated the removal of petrol subsidy ahead of the 2023 presidential election, had now changed his position for political reasons.
He argued that restoring the subsidy would be fiscally unsustainable and incompatible with the reforms introduced into the petroleum sector.
“We respect Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s constitutional right to propose alternative policies, to seek the support of Nigerians and recant a major policy prescription,” Onanuga said.
“However, Nigerians also deserve to understand what the proposed restoration of subsidy would actually mean, how it would be funded, and whether it is compatible with the legal and structural changes that have taken place in the petroleum sector.”
According to him, the subsidy regime that existed before May 2023 had already been dismantled under the Petroleum Industry Act, which provided for the removal of petrol subsidy by the end of June 2023.
He said President Tinubu merely accelerated the implementation by a few weeks after assuming office.
Onanuga explained that petrol subsidy was not simply money sitting in government coffers for distribution to consumers, but the absorption by government of the difference between the regulated pump price and the actual cost of supplying petrol.
He said any attempt to restore the scheme would therefore require a clear legal, fiscal and administrative framework, including identifying the source of funding.
The presidential aide also argued that Nigeria’s petroleum landscape had changed considerably since 2023, particularly with the emergence of substantial domestic refining capacity.
He cited the Dangote Refinery as a major development that had increased local petrol production and reduced Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
Onanuga maintained that returning to the former subsidy arrangement could undermine local refining and expose smaller domestic refineries to financial difficulties, while also reversing gains in foreign-exchange conservation and domestic industrial development.
He contrasted the current situation with the period when Nigeria depended heavily on imported refined petroleum products, saying the country was now increasingly positioned to process crude domestically and supply the local market.
The presidential aide further argued that funds previously used to subsidise petrol could now be channelled through the Federation Account to the three tiers of government.
According to him, the three tiers shared about N3 trillion in July, describing the figure as a record and attributing the improved fiscal position partly to the removal of petrol price distortions and reforms in the foreign exchange market.
Onanuga acknowledged the hardship caused by higher petrol prices, transportation costs and energy expenses, but said sustainable relief should not involve returning to what he described as an opaque and fiscally burdensome subsidy regime.
He pointed to the Federal Government’s promotion of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as an alternative, noting that CNG was significantly cheaper than petrol for motorists and commercial operators.
He said major companies, including Dangote and BUA, had already deployed CNG-powered trucks in their operations.
The presidential aide challenged Atiku to provide details of how a renewed subsidy regime would be financed if he intended to implement the proposal.
“Political promises must be backed by fiscal arithmetic,” he said, asking how much the proposed programme would cost annually, what revenue source would finance it and whether government would borrow to fund it.
He also questioned whether the National Assembly would be required to amend existing provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act and petroleum-sector regulations.
Onanuga further asked how subsidy payments would be verified and protected from the abuses associated with the previous regime.
He said Nigerians should also be told what exactly the proposed subsidy would cover now that the country had substantially increased domestic petrol production.
The presidential aide urged political actors to base their economic proposals on the realities of Nigeria’s current petroleum market rather than the conditions that prevailed before the subsidy removal.
He said the country could not afford to return to policies whose costs were hidden from citizens until they emerged later through higher public debt, reduced government spending and pressure on the naira.
“Specific answers should accompany any promise to restore fuel subsidy,” Onanuga said.
He urged Atiku and other political actors to present Nigerians with the full fiscal and legal implications of any proposal to restore petrol subsidy.
The statement was dated August 20, 2026.