ADC To Tinubu: Nigerians cannot survive without fuel subsidy

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has told President Bola Tinubu that Nigerians cannot survive without some form of fuel subsidy, arguing that the country’s economic hardship has made cheaper petrol a necessity rather than a luxury.

The opposition party rejected the Presidency’s criticism of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s fuel subsidy proposal, insisting that the government was focusing on the cost of subsidy while ignoring the struggles of ordinary Nigerians.

In a statement on Monday, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the central issue was that Nigerians could no longer cope with the impact of high fuel prices.

“What Nigerians need is cheaper fuel because Nigerians are too poor not to be subsidised. Nigerian crude should create Nigerian value for Nigerians,” the party said.

The statement followed comments from the Presidency that restoring petrol subsidy to support a pump price of about N600 per litre could cost Nigeria about N19.1 trillion annually.

ADC questioned the basis of the projection, saying the figure was built on assumptions around crude oil prices and subsidy estimates.

The party accused the government of attempting to discredit Atiku’s proposal instead of addressing the economic pressure faced by Nigerians.

It argued that its position was not a return to the old subsidy system but a controlled intervention aimed at supporting domestic refining and reducing fuel costs.

“We do not propose to subsidise waste or import dependence. We propose a capped, audited and traceable intervention that directly improves capacity,” ADC said.

The party also challenged the Federal Government to explain why production incentives in the oil sector were acceptable while support for domestic refining was considered unsustainable.

ADC maintained that Nigeria’s crude resources should be used to reduce the burden of energy costs on citizens rather than increase hardship.