Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday promised to fully restore the fuel subsidy if elected in 2027.
He dismissed as inaccurate a statement by one of his spokespersons that his planned subsidy restoration would be temporary.
Mr Abubakar, in a statement by his spokesperson, Phrank Shuaibu, on Tuesday, said “clarification became necessary following comments credited to Paul Ibe, suggesting that an Atiku administration would “restore fuel subsidy and remove it later.”
The former vice president, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for 2027, said he “has never proposed restoring the import-subsidy regime and subsequently removing it on some predetermined date. That is not his policy and should not be attributed to him.”
According to him, he proposes a targeted, capped, transparently budgeted, and independently audited subsidy that supports domestic refining and production, with measurable exit conditions built in from day one.
“There is no arbitrary withdrawal date. As domestic refining expands, supply stabilises, competition deepens, and the market becomes capable of delivering affordable prices without government support, the intervention progressively becomes unnecessary,” he added.
The former vice president argued that his position on subsidy restoration is to ease Nigerians’ economic hardships and cost-of-living challenges associated with President Bola Tinubu’s economic policy.
“The real question is simple: Why has everything become so expensive, and what will I do to make life affordable again?” Mr Abubakar said.
He added, “Tinubu transferred the shock of his reforms to Nigerian families. I will reduce production and transportation costs, strengthen domestic refining, and restore purchasing power.
“The choice is not removal of subsidy versus restoration of subsidy. It is Expensive Nigeria versus Affordable Nigeria.”
Petrol subsidy has dominated national discussion since Mr Abubakar last Wednesday vowed to restore the petrol subsidy removed by Mr Tinubu’s administration.
Mr Tinubu’s government has pushed back against Mr Abubakar’s idea, arguing it would undo the economic gains from the subsidy removal policy.