Paul Ibe, spokesperson to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has said that his principal would temporarily reintroduce petrol subsidy if he wins the 2027 presidential election. He recently had his say during an interview on AIT, while explaining Atiku’s position on the removal of petrol subsidy and the economic hardship associated with the policy.
Explaining that the proposed policy would be designed as a short-term economic intervention, he stated that Atiku would give households and businesses time to adjust to prevailing economic conditions before the subsidy is eventually withdrawn.
Stressing that Atiku’s government will not return to the subsidy arrangement of the past, Ibe added that Abubakar would use Nigeria’s crude oil resources to support domestic refining and reduce the cost of petroleum products.
His words, “We are not returning to Egypt. We are not going back to the old regime that was opaque.
The crude oil will be sold at a discounted price, subsidised to refiners, and that will enable refiners to be able to produce fuel and diesel at a cheap cost. And when they produce cheaply, they will sell at the real pump price.
There’ll be a window because, of course, we deregulated. You may not fix the price but you can have price monitoring to ensure that everybody aligns with what government hopes to achieve.
No surgeon, no doctor would carry out two or more serious major surgeries, one after the other. They would do one, allow the patient to recuperate, and then undertake the second, or the third.
We also need to start thinking about an economy that is beyond the oil economy. We need to diversify our economy.”
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