APC Campaign Council Demands Atiku Explain Legal Basis of Petrol Production Subsidy

Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to set out the legal, fiscal and operational basis of his proposed production subsidy for locally refined petrol.

In a Sunday statement, APC-PCC spokesman Dele Alake said the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate's plan raised fundamental questions about how such a policy would function under Nigeria's existing petroleum laws. The council pointed to Section 205(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act, which stipulates that wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products shall be based on unrestricted free-market pricing conditions.

According to the APC-PCC, the proposal could cost between NGN 17 trillion and NGN 21 trillion annually, depending on the subsidy rate, the volume of petroleum products covered and the structure of the intervention. The council warned that a scheme at the upper end of that range could reignite severe fiscal crises across state governments.

Alake asked Atiku to disclose the proposed subsidy rate, the annual spending ceiling, the volume of crude oil or petrol to be covered, the funding source, and safeguards against diversion, smuggling and fraudulent claims. The council also pressed him to explain the legal mechanism through which the subsidy would guarantee lower petrol prices for consumers.

Without an enforceable mechanism, the APC-PCC argued, refiners could capture the benefit of public support while motorists continued to pay market prices at filling stations.