Former Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has reaffirmed his commitment to a targeted petroleum intervention designed to ease the burden on Nigerian families, while ruling out any return to the country’s controversial fuel import-subsidy regime.
The clarification follows reports suggesting that an Atiku administration would “restore fuel subsidy and remove it later.” His Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, dismissed the claim as “unauthorised, imprecise and materially misleading,” stressing that policy positions belong to the candidate and must be communicated accurately.
Atiku explained that his proposal is not about subsidising inefficiency but about creating a temporary, capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited intervention to support domestic refining and production.
“What Atiku proposes is a targeted intervention with measurable performance-based exit conditions built in from day one. The objective is to reduce production costs, strengthen domestic refining, increase supply, deepen competition and create conditions under which government support will no longer be necessary,” Shaibu said.
He emphasized that the intervention would decline progressively as conditions such as increased refining capacity, supply stability, and stronger market competition are achieved.
“You do not remove scaffolding because the calendar says so. You remove it when the building can stand securely on its own,” he added.
Atiku’s campaign insists that the central issue is not semantics but the cost of living crisis. Shaibu argued that President Tinubu’s reforms transferred economic shocks directly to Nigerian families, while Atiku’s plan would focus on reducing production and transportation costs, strengthening domestic refining, expanding supply, and restoring purchasing power.
“The choice is not between the removal of subsidy and the restoration of subsidy. The choice is between an Expensive Nigeria and an Affordable Nigeria,” Shaibu declared.
Atiku’s position underscores a broader vision of reform anchored on transparency, accountability, and measurable outcomes. His campaign maintains that the intervention will be time-bound, performance-driven, and designed to exit once Nigeria’s petroleum sector can sustainably deliver affordable products without government support.
