Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for the 2027 presidential campaign of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has rejected criticism of Atiku’s proposal to restore petrol subsidy if elected, saying the policy is intended to make fuel more affordable and is different from the previous subsidy system.
Okonkwo made the clarification during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of misunderstanding the proposal put forward by Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Atiku had on Wednesday said he would restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027. The declaration sparked controversy, particularly because of his reported support for subsidy removal during the 2023 presidential campaign.
The former vice-president had also questioned the Tinubu administration over the use of funds saved from the removal of petrol subsidy.
Tinubu had criticised the proposal, describing it as evidence of “serious ignorance of governance and economy” and maintaining that the former subsidy regime placed a significant financial burden on Nigeria.
However, Okonkwo said Atiku was not seeking to revive the previous system, which he linked to Nigeria’s dependence on imported petrol and alleged manipulation of subsidy payments.
“The whole idea of the Atiku plan is affordability of fuel to the ordinary Nigerian,” he said.
He added: “It is ignorance of Tinubu to say that Atiku wants to go back to the subsidy of the old.”
Okonkwo said Atiku’s proposal, known as the Atiku Fuel Affordability Plan (AFAP), would rely on domestic refining and government intervention to provide crude oil to local refineries at affordable prices.
He said supplying crude to domestic refineries at a fair price would reduce production costs and eventually lower the price of petrol for consumers.
“He said, ‘I will supply the needed crude to our local refineries at a price that will be fair enough for them to use to produce the fuel at a reduced and affordable price to Nigerians,’” Okonkwo said.
The campaign spokesperson argued that a petrol subsidy would not have been necessary if successive governments had developed adequate domestic refining capacity and ensured sufficient fuel supply.
He said the former subsidy system became associated with corruption because Nigeria depended largely on imported petrol.
“This was the way the subsidy of the old operated. They were importing 100 per cent of the fuel. We didn’t have any refinery,” he said.
Okonkwo alleged that the system allowed import volumes and prices to be manipulated, ultimately leaving Nigerians to bear the cost.
He maintained that Atiku’s proposal was different from the previous arrangement. “Atiku is not going back to that and cannot even go back to that,” he said.
COURTESY: neusroom.com
