The Nigerian Presidency has sharply criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, alleging that his recent statements on petrol subsidy reveal a lack of coherent policy direction. In a statement released on Wednesday, the administration questioned the credibility of Atiku’s proposal, pointing to what it described as multiple shifts in his position within a single week.
Conflicting Statements Within Days
According to the Presidency, the confusion began with a statement from Atiku’s spokesperson, Paul Ibe, who suggested that the former Vice President would restore the petrol subsidy if elected and later phase it out. However, another aide, Phrank Shaibu, quickly distanced himself from that interpretation, calling it an “unauthorised and misleading characterisation” of Atiku’s stance. Shaibu argued that the subsidy would remain until domestic refining capacity increased, supply stabilized, and market competition deepened.
Atiku himself later intervened, reaffirming his original position and stating, “I will restore targeted subsidy and put purchasing power back in the hands of Nigerians.” The Presidency, through Special Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, seized on these contradictions, asking why an aide would describe the subsidy as temporary and subject to phase-out while another disowned that position before Atiku reaffirmed the original proposal.
Questions Over Feasibility and Cost
Onanuga challenged Atiku to provide specifics on how his proposed subsidy would function, including its cost, beneficiaries, funding mechanism, and conditions for eventual removal. “This is not merely a matter of semantics. It is a serious policy contradiction,” Onanuga said. He further urged Atiku to explain precisely what he means by “targeted subsidy,” asking, “how much will it cost, who will benefit, how will beneficiaries be identified, how will it be funded and what objective economic conditions will determine its eventual termination?”
The presidential aide also rejected what he described as an oversimplification of the relationship between petrol prices and the cost of living. He argued that several other factors, including insecurity, exchange rates, logistics, storage, flooding, and agricultural input costs, influence food inflation.
Broader Economic Context
Onanuga further questioned Atiku’s proposal to link subsidy to the price of crude oil, noting that refining crude produces several other petroleum products beyond petrol. He cited diesel, aviation fuel, and kerosene as examples, and asked whether Atiku’s proposed subsidy would extend to those products as well. “Jet fuel and kerosene make up about nine per cent of the barrel. Kerosene and jet fuel were deregulated in 2009, and subsidies removed in 2016,” Onanuga stated.
He also highlighted other by-products, noting that “about 10 to 15 per cent of the barrel creates base ingredients for synthetic rubber, nylon, polyester, and plastics used in everyday goods like toothbrushes, cups, and packaging.” He added that asphalt makes up about two to four per cent of the barrel, while hydrocarbon gas liquids like propane and butane make up about four per cent. Lubricants and waxes constitute about one to two per cent, with petroleum coke and sulfur forming the solid residue left from refining.
Onanuga specifically recalled that diesel was deregulated in 2004 under the administration in which Atiku served as Vice-President, while kerosene and aviation fuel were deregulated at different times. He questioned the consistency of subsidizing only petrol while ignoring other by-products used by equally vulnerable Nigerians. “Will Atiku subsidise all these by-products of the barrel as well, since kerosene is used by the underprivileged to cook, and many homes and factories use diesel to power generators and delivery trucks? And will he allow the refineries to supply discounted crude oil to profit from 55 per cent of the by-products, while focusing subsidy only on petrol, his obsession?” he asked.
Accusations of Political Motives
The Presidency accused Atiku of focusing excessively on petrol while overlooking other products obtained from crude oil. The administration maintained that a comprehensive economic policy should address the wider factors driving inflation and the cost of living rather than focus solely on petrol prices. Onanuga concluded that the economy was too important to be subjected to what he described as “policy somersaults, incoherence, destructive populism and election gimmicks.”
The statement further argued that the former Vice President was “definitely suffering from a lack of basic understanding of his newfound policy prescription.” The Presidency’s remarks underscore the deepening political rift over economic policy as the nation grapples with inflationary pressures and subsidy-related debates.
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Source: Presidency slams Atiku, says he’s “confused”