Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has cited a new SBM Intelligence survey in support of his call for changes to Nigeria’s petrol pricing policy, after 67.4 per cent of respondents said they favoured restoring fuel subsidy.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, referenced the finding in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Tuesday.
The survey places petrol at the centre of renewed public concern over the cost of living, with the commodity ranking as the second-most cited national problem in the latest assessment. It also recorded a performance rating of 1.69 out of four for the government’s handling of the issue.
The figures come from the second wave of SBM Intelligence’s Nigeria 2027 Voter Sentiment Tracker, titled Nigeria 2027: A Narrower Race. The research firm interviewed 1,103 eligible voters through face-to-face interviews across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory, covering the six geopolitical zones.
SBM, however, cautioned that the findings represent a snapshot of stated views among those surveyed. The sample does not adjust for historical voter turnout, population projections or voter registration figures. The figures should therefore be read as survey responses rather than a direct measurement of the views of every Nigerian or a forecast of electoral behaviour.
Atiku nevertheless presented the 67.4 per cent figure as evidence of strong public dissatisfaction with the current petrol pricing arrangement.
“This survey is no longer merely about economic policy. It has become a democratic question. When an overwhelming majority of Nigerians declare that a government policy is destroying their lives, responsible leadership must listen,” he said.
The former Vice President linked the fuel debate to the wider pressure on households and businesses, pointing to transport expenses, food prices and operating costs as areas affected by petrol prices.
The survey also recorded differences across locations. Atiku said 32.4 per cent of rural respondents identified petrol as their primary concern, compared with 11.7 per cent among urban respondents. In the South-West, petrol was cited by 30.5 per cent of respondents, while the figure stood at 29.1 per cent in the South-South.
The figures provide a snapshot of how fuel prices feature among concerns in different parts of the country. They do not, by themselves, establish that petrol is the leading concern nationwide or that respondents share the same reasons for their views.
Atiku used the findings to renew his criticism of the removal of petrol subsidy under the Tinubu administration. He said the policy had increased pressure on transportation and household expenditure and maintained that economic reforms should be accompanied by measures that protect purchasing power.
He also dismissed the use of headline economic indicators as a sufficient measure of citizens’ welfare.
“Nigerians do not eat GDP figures. A mother cannot take FAAC allocations to the market. A worker cannot fuel his vehicle with presidential promises. Any economic reform that does not improve the lives of the people has failed,” Atiku said.
His proposed alternative, however, is not a return to the previous subsidy arrangement in its former structure.
Atiku said he would introduce a production subsidy for petrol refined in Nigeria and sold domestically, with imported products excluded from the scheme. He proposed a fixed expenditure ceiling, approval by the National Assembly and independent audits.
According to him, the mechanism would seek to reduce pump prices while encouraging domestic refining, supporting employment and improving consumers’ purchasing power.
The proposal has already attracted a response from the Presidency. The administration has questioned the legal, fiscal and operational basis of Atiku’s proposed production subsidy, pointing to provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act governing petroleum pricing.
The State House also said any intervention should be lawful, transparent, properly costed and capable of producing measurable benefits for consumers.
The policy debate comes against a fresh increase in petrol prices. Reuters reported that petrol had reached about ₦1,400 per litre in Lagos and Abuja, with prices climbing as high as ₦1,500 in parts of northern Nigeria amid higher international crude prices.
That price movement has added new pressure to an issue that has already shaped economic debate since the removal of petrol subsidy in 2023.
Atiku’s latest statement therefore combines a survey finding with a specific policy proposal. The SBM figures indicate how respondents in its sample view the subsidy question, while Atiku is using those findings to press for a different approach to petrol pricing.
The survey itself does not establish whether restoring subsidy would produce the economic effects claimed by either side. That question depends on the design, cost, financing and implementation of any replacement policy.
For now, the 67.4 per cent figure has given fresh momentum to the petrol subsidy debate, placing household costs, domestic refining and the future structure of fuel pricing back at the centre of Nigeria’s economic and political conversation.
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