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African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of allegedly turning the fuel discount it announced on Thursday into a “political spectacle” at the expense of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Atiku, in a statement by the Director of Strategic Communication, ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said the NNPCL is now a commercial entity, yet the Presidency is claiming applause for the fuel discount.
The former Vice President wondered if the NNPCL board is involved in the fuel discount, what figures it considered and what margin the company is expected to forgo as a result of the fuel discount announced by the government.
According to him, ” Tinubu wants Nigerians to cheer for ₦66 off a litre before they ask who ordered NNPC to surrender the money. He wants credit for the discount without showing the board approval, the cost or the account that will carry it. Nigerians are not so desperate for relief that they have forgotten how to ask a simple question: who pays for Tinubu’s applause?
“NNPC Limited is no longer the old NNPC corporation. The Petroleum Industry Act established it to operate as a commercial company. Yet the Presidency announces a discount, claims the applause and tells NNPC to surrender its margin. Is the government exercising its rights as shareholder through proper corporate channels, or treating NNPC Limited as a drawer of campaign money it can open whenever an election approaches?
“When Nigerians demand affordable petrol, Tinubu’s officials deliver a lecture about market forces. They say prices cannot be wished down. But when Tinubu needs a headline, the Presidency reaches into NNPC’s margin and calls it relief. Apparently, the market is sacred until the President needs applause.”
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Furthermore, Atiku said: “And where, exactly, are Nigerians supposed to find this relief? NNPC Retail has just over 900 stations for a country of roughly 242 million people. That is a narrow network for a national promise. Motorists are already queuing at some outlets. Must a driver burn petrol travelling to an NNPC station, spend time in a queue, download an app and pay through it to save ₦66 on each litre? How much of the saving survives the journey?
“What happens to the family whose nearest NNPC station is miles away? What happens when a station runs out of petrol? Tinubu announces relief for the whole country, then delivers it through a fraction of its filling stations. A press release can reach every Nigerian in a second. His discount cannot.
“Where is NNPC’s board in this performance? Did it approve the decision before the Presidency announced it? What figures did it examine? What margin will the company forgo, and where will that cost appear in its accounts? Or was the board expected to discover its decision in the government’s press release?”
The ADC candidate, who stated that the government has said that the fuel discount was not a subsidy, noted that “hanging the name of a cost does not make it disappear.” He added that Nigerians need affordable fuel across the country and not the government fuel discount.
Atiku, while addressing President Tinubu, said: “You mocked my proposal for a transparent production subsidy. Now you have borrowed its central lesson, that Nigerians need targeted relief, and come back with an app coupon lasting 30 days at a handful of stations. You borrowed the recipe for feeding a nation and returned with a tasting spoon. Nigerians need fuel made affordable across the country, not ₦66 they must queue to collect.”
