Atiku Abubakar Rejects Old Fuel Subsidy Plan for 2027

Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), announced that he will not revive the previous fuel subsidy regime if elected president in the 2027 general election. In a statement released by his media team, he outlined his plan to cut petrol prices by replacing the old import-subsidy system with a targeted, capped, transparently budgeted, and independently audited production subsidy.

Atiku emphasized that the new model would ensure that subsidies follow the actual production of refined products in Nigeria, preventing refinery owners from benefiting without passing savings to consumers. He stated that the cost and beneficiaries of the subsidy would be clearly defined, and all transactions would be verifiable to eliminate issues like phantom cargoes and unverifiable claims.

This announcement comes after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy in May 2023, resulting in a significant increase in petrol prices. The Finance Minister, Taiwo Oyedele, reported that the government had saved N15.8 trillion from the subsidy removal but incurred N30.64 trillion in incremental expenditures from June 2023 to December 2025.