‘I’ll Make Nigeria Affordable Again’ — Atiku

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said his plan to restore fuel subsidy is intended to support local refining and reduce the cost of petrol, rather than subsidise imported fuel.

Atiku made the clarification in a series of posts on his X handle on Saturday, describing his proposed policy as a “production subsidy” focused on boosting domestic refining.

According to him, the government would support crude oil refined locally so that domestic refineries can produce petrol at lower costs and transfer the savings to consumers.

He illustrated the idea with the example of shoemakers, saying government could either use public funds to make imported shoes cheaper or support local manufacturers in Aba to lower their production costs, create jobs and make their products more affordable.

“I choose the Aba shoemaker,” he said.

Atiku said the same principle would apply to the petroleum sector, with government supporting local refining to reduce production costs and make petrol more affordable.