Atiku claims Dangote refinery warning backs his domestic fuel subsidy plan
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said on Friday that Dangote Refinery’s warning that private refineries should not be compelled to sell petrol at a loss vindicates his long‑standing proposal for a production‑based fuel subsidy. Speaking through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku explained that his plan would subsidize the crude feedstock supplied to qualifying Nigerian refineries, not force them to sell fuel below cost.
He argued that the current approach of imposing an arbitrary pump price leaves private refiners to absorb losses, whereas a production subsidy would lower input costs, allowing domestic refineries to produce more competitively, expand capacity, create jobs and sell fuel at a price Nigerians can better afford. The subsidy would be capped, verified independently, tracked electronically, tied to domestic supply obligations and audited regularly.
Atiku added that any extra relief beyond what lower crude‑input costs can sustainably deliver must be funded openly, budgeted, capped and audited. He urged the Presidency to engage with the substance of his proposal rather than attack a distorted version of it. Will a production‑subsidy model lower pump prices without hurting refinery profits, and how should the government ensure transparency in any fuel relief it provides?