Precious Nwonu, Enugu
Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Federal Government over the high cost of petrol, questioning the management of revenues following the removal of fuel subsidy.
Atiku, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said Nigerians were now paying as much as ₦1,470 per litre for petrol despite crude oil selling at about $102.52 per barrel.
He compared the current situation with 2008, when crude oil reportedly reached $147 per barrel but petrol sold for ₦65 per litre under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Atiku described the current arrangement as “an organised system of grand larceny”, alleging that opaque deductions from the Federation Account, questionable revenue management and off-book transactions had raised concerns about the handling of public funds.
He also questioned what had happened to the savings from the removal of fuel subsidy, recalling that Nigerians were told the policy would release funds for investment in education, healthcare and infrastructure.
“Petrol at ₦1,470 per litre is not merely a figure at the filling station. It enters the price of transportation, food, school runs, farming, manufacturing and virtually everything Nigerians buy,” Atiku said.
He added, “After all the pain imposed on Nigerians, they have a right to ask: where are the subsidy savings and where is the money?”
The ADC presidential candidate cited Federal Account Allocation Committee records which, according to him, showed that the Federation Account recorded gross revenue of ₦4.232tn in June 2025, while only ₦1.818tn was distributed.
Atiku demanded a comprehensive reconciliation of government revenues from 2023 to date, including details of gross collections, deductions, the legal basis for each deduction, receiving accounts and the ultimate beneficiaries of the funds.
He also called for greater transparency concerning the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, OML 143, NNPC LNG trading operations, offshore corporate structures and what he described as alleged unofficial crude lifting.
The former vice president further rejected international oil prices as a sufficient explanation for the high cost of petrol in Nigeria.
He noted that petrol prices in the United States, which he put at about $1.14 per litre, were comparable to prices in Nigeria, but stressed that the US federal minimum wage was $7.25 per hour, compared with Nigeria’s ₦70,000 monthly minimum wage.
“Tinubu has brought Nigerians close to American fuel prices while leaving them with Nigerian poverty wages. That is the true cost of his subsidy-removal policy,” Atiku said.
He urged the Federal Government to make verifiable financial records available to the public and engage independent forensic auditors to examine and reconcile the accounts.
Atiku maintained that accountability in the management of public resources was a fundamental obligation to Nigerians and should not be treated as optional.
Leave a Reply