Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has predicted that the price of petrol could rise to N5,000 per litre if President Bola Tinubu comes for a second term in office.
Adebayo predicted in a statement issued by his campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Mark Adebayo, on Wednesday.
He stated that the projected increase to the Federal Government’s deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector and the floating of the naira
According to him, Nigeria’s dependence on imported petrol, which is priced in US dollars, means that further weakening of the naira could significantly increase the cost of fuel.
He said if the exchange rate reaches N3,500 to a dollar in the coming years, the landing cost of petrol alone could exceed N4,000 per litre.
“A N5,000 fuel price is not a myth; it is basic mathematics based on the direction the Tinubu administration is walking,” he said.
Adebayo also criticised the removal of fuel subsidies, arguing that the policy leaves consumers exposed to fluctuations in global crude oil prices.
ALSO READ: ADC Explains Atiku Abubakar’s Plan to Return Fuel Price to N600 Per Litre
He said higher petrol prices would increase transportation costs, which would, in turn, drive up the prices of food and other essential commodities.
The SDP candidate further pointed to high interest rates, port challenges and distribution costs as factors that could add to the cost of importing and distributing petrol.
The presidency’s assertion that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s plan to lower gas prices to roughly N600 per litre amounted to a return to Nigeria’s previous fuel subsidy system has been denied by the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The party claimed that Atiku’s plan was actually a controlled production incentive for domestic refineries, intended to boost local refining capacity and reduce petrol prices.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, made this statement in reaction to the proposal’s criticism by the presidency.
According to him, “The Presidency has based its argument on a projected N19.1 trillion cost without properly considering how Atiku’s proposal is structured or the wider economic benefits of cheaper fuel produced locally.”
He added, “We are at a loss how the presidency conjured up this phantom figure. But we do not agree with it,”
According to Abdullahi, Atiku’s plan would include a budgetary cap and systems for tracking the flow of oil from refinery intake to final petroleum products.
The party said that Atiku’s planned controlled subsidy plan, which it claimed was meant to replace the previous subsidy system, was not being criticised by the presidency.
The ADC also questioned the government’s rationale for offering incentives to oil companies while opposing policies meant to lessen Nigerians’ burden of exorbitant fuel costs.
