No subsidy for imported fuel under my plan – Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has proposed a new fuel subsidy model that would exclude imported petroleum products, saying government support under his plan would focus only on petrol refined within Nigeria.

Atiku said his proposed intervention would move away from the previous subsidy structure, which critics have often linked to fuel imports and opaque payments, and instead support domestic production by reducing the cost of crude supplied to Nigerian refineries.

“Import subsidy spends public money supporting petrol refined abroad and brought into Nigeria. Production subsidy supports crude refined here in Nigeria so that Nigerian refineries can produce fuel more cheaply and Nigerians can pay less,” Atiku said in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

Under the proposed model, Atiku said only refineries that refine crude in Nigeria would qualify for the intervention, adding that the policy would not apply to imported petroleum products, foreign refineries or middlemen.

He said the scheme would include spending limits, transparency measures, independent verification and audits to ensure Nigerians benefit from any reduction in production costs.

“If you do not refine in Nigeria, you do not qualify. This is not a subsidy for foreign refineries. It is not a subsidy for importers. It is not a subsidy for middlemen. It is a subsidy for Nigerian production,” Atiku said.

The ADC presidential candidate’s latest explanation comes amid renewed debate over petrol subsidy following his earlier calls for government intervention to reduce the impact of rising fuel and transportation costs.

He had also cited a recent SBM Intelligence survey, which he said showed that 67.4 per cent of respondents favoured restoring petrol subsidy.

However, Atiku said his proposal was not a return to the former subsidy regime but a shift from subsidising imported fuel to supporting domestic refining.

He argued that lowering the cost of crude supplied to local refineries would reduce production costs and ultimately translate into cheaper petrol for Nigerians.