Atiku

The Presidency has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s reported proposal to restore fuel subsidy if elected president, describing the plan as fiscally unsustainable and a potential reversal of ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

In a statement, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the subsidy regime was dismantled under the Petroleum Industry Act and that restoring it would require a clear legal, fiscal and administrative framework.

Onanuga argued that returning to subsidy could reduce funds available to the three tiers of government, increase borrowing and undermine the country’s growing domestic refining capacity.

While acknowledging the economic hardship caused by high fuel prices, the Presidency said sustainable alternatives, including increased local refining and the adoption of Compressed Natural Gas, offered better long-term solutions.

The statement urged Atiku to explain how a renewed subsidy programme would be funded and its legal and fiscal implications.