2027: I Won’t Bring Back Fuel Subsidy, I’ll Make Nigerians Benefit From Cheaper Crude — Makinde

The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Governor Seyi Makinde has said he will not restore the old fuel subsidy regime if elected president in 2027, but promised to restructure Nigeria’s petroleum pricing system to ensure Nigerians benefit directly from the country’s crude oil.

Makinde spoke on Monday during the inauguration of the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Office in Wuse II, Abuja, where he outlined some of his positions on the country’s petroleum pricing framework.

The APM presidential candidate said his proposal should not be mistaken for a plan to bring back fuel subsidy, stressing that his focus would be on ensuring that crude oil produced in Nigeria is supplied to domestic refineries at a price that reflects the country’s status as an oil-producing nation.

“In the past few days, I’ve spoken about the petrol pricing framework. Some people have asked whether I’m bringing back the old fuel subsidy. That is not my position,” Makinde said.

He explained that Nigerians should not be made to pay for locally produced crude oil as though the commodity had been transported from another part of the world.

“If a community has a particular food, the people of that community should not buy that food as though it travelled halfway around the world before it reached them,” he said.

Makinde questioned why crude oil supplied to Nigerian refineries should be priced in a manner that ultimately pushes up the cost of refined petroleum products for Nigerians.

According to him, the benefit of Nigeria’s crude oil should be incorporated into the petroleum pricing system from the beginning, particularly through the price at which crude is supplied to domestic refineries.

“Nigeria oil must provide a real and measurable benefit to Nigerians,” he said.

“That benefit should be built into the system from the beginning through the price at which crude oil is supplied for domestic refining, not through an OPEC intervention and the petrol pump after all the inefficiencies and distortions have been added.”

The APM candidate said he had previously made the argument at meetings of the National Economic Council, where he said some of his fellow governors were also present.

“I’ve argued about this at the National Economic Council. Those of.my colleagues that are there can attest to this,” Makinde said.

The presidential candidate’s comments come amid renewed political debate over whether Nigeria should retain the current fuel-pricing model or introduce measures to reduce the burden of petrol prices on citizens.