By Felix Olukayode
The rising cost of petrol is putting further pressure on Nigerian households and businesses, with African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar backing calls for government intervention to bring pump prices down. The intervention followed a recent appeal by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for the Federal Government to broker an agreement with domestic refiners, including the Dangote Refinery, to reduce petrol prices.
Petrol prices have recently climbed to about N1,310- N1,345 per litre in Abuja and surrounding areas, following increases in gantry and ex-depot prices. The development has raised concerns among motorists and businesses already struggling with high transportation and operating costs.
Reacting through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said IPMAN’s position strengthened his argument that government support should be directed towards domestic refining rather than the former import-dependent subsidy system. “IPMAN has come late to this conversation, but it has come to the right conclusion,” he said.
Atiku argued that government intervention in locally refined petrol should not automatically be equated with the subsidy regime abolished by President Bola Tinubu. He has previously proposed preferential crude supplies to qualifying domestic refineries, tied to verifiable production and domestic supply, describing the approach as moving subsidy “from importation to production.”
He also accused the Tinubu administration of becoming increasingly concerned about the political consequences of high living costs ahead of the 2027 election, alleging that the government could be considering a return of subsidy through the back door. Atiku, however, offered no public evidence for the alleged plan, making the claim a political accusation rather than an established government policy.
With petrol prices directly affecting transport fares, food distribution and household budgets, the dispute is increasingly becoming a contest over which policy can deliver cheaper energy without recreating the leakages associated with the old subsidy system. Atiku said his proposed approach would make Nigeria’s crude resources work more directly for Nigerians, while Tinubu’s administration has continued to defend subsidy removal as a necessary economic reform.