Atiku Pledges Production Subsidy to Slash Fuel, Transport Costs

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has clarified that his proposed restoration of fuel subsidy is designed strictly as a production subsidy to support domestic refining, lower petrol prices and ease the broader cost-of-living burden on Nigerian households and businesses—not to revive the old system of subsidising imported fuel.

In a series of posts on his X account on Saturday, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for 2027 stressed that government support would follow the barrel of crude refined in Nigeria. This, he said, would enable local refineries to produce petrol more cheaply and pass the savings to consumers, while creating jobs and strengthening the domestic energy sector.

“I am not restoring subsidy so that Nigeria can keep paying for imported petrol. I am restoring subsidy so that Nigerians can produce more at home, pay less for fuel, and keep more money in their pockets,” Atiku stated. “That is the difference between import subsidy and production subsidy.”

He illustrated the distinction with a simple analogy drawn from everyday manufacturing. If government wants cheaper shoes for citizens, it could either spend public funds to make imported footwear less expensive or support local shoemakers in Aba to cut their production costs, employ more people and sell at affordable prices. “I choose the Aba shoemaker,” he declared. The same logic, he said, would apply to fuel: support for crude refined in Nigeria so that domestic refineries can operate at lower cost and Nigerians pay less at the pump.

Atiku framed the policy as far more than a fuel-price intervention. Lower energy costs, he argued, would reduce bus fares, cut the expense of moving food from farms to markets, ease the burden on traders, and lower operating costs for barbers, tailors, welders and other small-business owners. The cumulative effect, he said, would put more money back into family pockets, ease pressure on food prices and help address the wider cost-of-living crisis.

“I want the bus fare you pay every morning to come down. I want the cost of taking food from the farm to the market to come down. I want the trader to spend less. I want the barber, tailor, welder and small business owner to spend less on energy,” he wrote. “I want a mother to return from the market with more food in her bag. I want a father to pay transport and still have something left in his pocket.”

Responding to a supporter’s comment, Atiku urged Nigerians to help explain the production-subsidy model, noting its particular benefits for women and families who run small businesses or manage household budgets. Lower fuel and transport costs, he said, would make daily life more manageable and reduce the price of food and other necessities.

The clarification comes amid ongoing debate over the proposal. Atiku has repeatedly distinguished his model from the pre-2023 import-subsidy regime, which critics said was opaque, fiscally burdensome and encouraged dependence on foreign petrol. Under his plan, support would be tied exclusively to crude processed in Nigeria. Refineries that do not refine locally would not qualify. He has also insisted the scheme would not force private refiners, including the Dangote Refinery, to sell below cost. Instead, government would reduce the cost of crude feedstock through a transparent, capped mechanism, allowing producers to maintain legitimate margins while delivering lower prices to consumers.

Safeguards form a central part of the proposal. Atiku has outlined a hard fiscal ceiling, a maximum support level per barrel, independent verification of supported crude, electronic tracking of crude intake and refined output, domestic-supply obligations, transparent pricing formulas, independent audits and severe penalties for diversion or fraud. The cost of preferential crude would be openly budgeted rather than hidden, and any additional consumer relief beyond the savings from cheaper feedstock would have to be funded and audited by government.

The former vice-president has linked the policy to his broader Atiku Economic Recovery Plan, arguing that three years after subsidy removal, many Nigerians have been told simply to “endure” rising fuel, transport and food prices.

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He maintains that a production-focused intervention would reverse that chain reaction—cheaper fuel leading to cheaper transport, lower food distribution costs and greater purchasing power—while building local refining capacity and jobs.

As the 2027 campaign season intensifies, Atiku’s production-subsidy pledge has drawn both support from those seeking immediate relief and criticism from those who view any return to subsidy as fiscally risky or a reversal of market reforms. The former vice-president, however, remains emphatic: “I will make life affordable again. I will make Nigeria affordable again. It is a promise.”