Adewole Adebayo, the Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, has said prices of petrol, cooking gas and aviation fuel, will be reduced to N200 per litre if elected president in 2027 and that’s on period!
Adebayo made the promise while featuring on the News Agency of Nigeria Personality Interview Series on Sunday in Abuja.
He said that the proposed reduction would be achieved in 12 months by reviving local refineries and creating an enabling environment for modular refineries to thrive in the country.
According to him, Nigeria’s refineries, which are barely 50 years old, are still very serviceable and can function to serve the country, noting that refineries in the United States that are more than 100 years old are still operational.
Adebayo said that he would also restore the original subsidy regime which reserved 450,000 barrels of crude oil for local consumption.
“All other derivatives from the 450,000 barrels, like naphtha, heavy fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, etc., will be sold and the money used to maintain the regime price,” he said.
The presidential candidate insisted that the current debate over petrol subsidy was distracting attention from the fundamental problems confronting Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
Adebayo said that he would also restore the original subsidy regime which reserved 450,000 barrels of crude oil for local consumption.
“All other derivatives from the 450,000 barrels, like naphtha, heavy fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, etc., will be sold and the money used to maintain the regime price,” he said.
The presidential candidate insisted that the current debate over petrol subsidy was distracting attention from the fundamental problems confronting Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
The country’s priority, he said, should be how to develop sufficient domestic refining capacity rather than continued importation of refined petroleum products at international prices.
Adebayo argued that Nigeria had an advantage because it possessed crude oil resources and existing refining infrastructure, saying that the country should be refining crude locally rather than relying heavily on imported products.
“SDP will pick cooking gas, petrol and Jet A1; those three, we will put them under a regime where the price does not go past N200.
“We will go to the National Assembly and demand to see that all the other derivatives that come from it, like naphtha and all others. When we sell them, we use the money to equalise the price,” he said.
The SDP presidential candidate said that under his administration, if elected president, Nigerians would not be discussing fuel subsidy as it was not a government economic programme.
He dismissed the argument that subsidy removal would, by itself, solve Nigeria’s fiscal problems, describing the subsidy debate as a “red herring.”
NAN
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