Atiku: Tinubu’s Subsidy Benefits Oil Investors, Hurts Poor Nigerians

Former Vice-President and ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Federal Government of favouring major oil companies with fiscal incentives while leaving Nigerians to bear the burden of rising petrol prices and the worsening cost of living.

In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over its continued use of tax credits, fiscal concessions and other incentives for petroleum industry operators despite declaring an end to petrol subsidy.

Atiku argued that while Nigerians were told subsidy removal was necessary to reform the economy, the government continued to provide financial support to major oil investors.

He questioned why government intervention was considered necessary for oil companies but unacceptable when it benefits ordinary Nigerians.

According to Atiku, the Federal Government’s deep offshore oil and gas incentives framework allows eligible petroleum projects to receive production tax credits of between three and 4.50 dollars per barrel, with additional incentives potentially pushing the total benefit to as much as 11.50 dollars per barrel under certain conditions.

He asked whether the government’s objection was to intervention itself or to interventions designed to cushion Nigerians from economic hardship.

The former vice-president also challenged the government’s claim that petrol subsidy had been completely eliminated.

He cited NNPC Limited’s audited accounts, which recorded about N4.84 trillion in energy-security expenses and related shortfalls in 2023 and approximately N7.13 trillion in 2024.

Atiku said NNPC had explained that part of the expenditure arose from the difference between the exchange rate used to determine the regulated PMS ex-coastal price and the prevailing exchange rate when import obligations were settled.

He therefore questioned how the subsidy could be said to have disappeared if public funds were still being used to cover under-recoveries and energy-security costs.

Atiku argued that whether such expenditure was described as subsidy, under-recovery, shortfall or energy security, the effect remained the same — public resources were being used to bridge the gap between the economic cost of petrol and the price at which it was sold.

‘WE’RE NOT PROPOSING THE OLD SUBSIDY REGIME’

Atiku said his proposed economic recovery plan would not return Nigeria to the former open-ended and opaque subsidy system.

Instead, he said his administration would introduce a targeted and capped intervention that would be transparently budgeted and independently audited.

According to him, the policy would be tied to increased domestic production and accompanied by measures to expand refining capacity, promote competition and restore household purchasing power.

Atiku also called for greater transparency in the petroleum sector, particularly regarding tax credits, remissions and other fiscal incentives.

He demanded disclosure of the beneficiaries, the value of revenue forgone by government and the investments delivered in return.

The ADC candidate further argued that Nigerian investors should have equal and transparent access to comparable incentives.

He said the success of economic reforms should ultimately be measured by improvements in citizens’ living standards, rather than by the level of hardship they are forced to endure.

Atiku maintained that his economic agenda would allow markets to function, ensure investors earn fair returns and protect public finances, while ensuring that ordinary Nigerians benefit from economic policies.

Last week, Atiku said he would restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, arguing that savings from its removal had not been properly accounted for.

The position has drawn criticism from President Tinubu, who described the ADC presidential candidate as “ignorant of governance and the economy.”

The renewed exchange places petrol pricing and subsidy policy at the centre of the emerging political debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.