The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has challenged the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, to explain the legal and fiscal basis of his proposed production subsidy for locally refined petrol.
The demand followed Atiku’s call on President Bola Tinubu on Friday, September 18, 2026, to reduce petrol and diesel prices and his proposal to support locally refined petroleum products.
At a press briefing in Abuja, Atiku said the scheme would exclude imported products, operate within a spending limit and be subject to National Assembly approval and independent audits.
But in a statement on Sunday, September 20, APC-PCC spokesman, Dele Alake, questioned how the proposal would comply with the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, and how it would be funded.
Alake cited Section 205(1) of the PIA, which provides for wholesale and retail petroleum prices to operate under unrestricted free-market conditions.
The challenge came a day after the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority said it did not fix petrol prices or issue administrative pricing templates under the current framework.
The NMDPRA said on Saturday, September 19, that government intervention in petroleum pricing was subject to conditions prescribed by the PIA, including a formally declared market failure. It said no such failure had been declared.
The APC-PCC consequently asked whether refiners receiving the proposed subsidy would be required to sell petrol at a government-prescribed price.
Alake said any such requirement would need a clear legal basis, while allowing refiners to set prices could make it difficult to guarantee that consumers would benefit from the subsidy.
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The council also questioned the proposal’s potential cost, particularly if crude oil were supplied to domestic refineries at preferential rates.
It estimated the intervention could cost between N17tn and N21tn annually, depending on the discount, volume covered and structure of the scheme.
The APC-PCC asked Atiku to disclose the subsidy rate, annual spending limit, funding source and safeguards against diversion, smuggling and fraudulent claims, and to clarify whether the PIA would require amendment.
The controversy has revived Nigeria’s long-running petrol subsidy debate.
Atiku had previously supported subsidy removal, describing the regime as fraudulent while speaking at the Lagos Business School in November 2022. But on August 25, 2026, he said he would restore subsidy if elected.
He has since described his current proposal as a production subsidy rather than the former import-based arrangement. On September 11, Atiku said the scheme would reduce the cost of crude supplied to qualifying domestic refineries and would be subject to spending limits, verification and audits.
He also said participating refiners would not be compelled to sell below cost.
The APC-PCC, however, asked how the proposed model would prevent the diversion, smuggling and fiscal leakages associated with the previous subsidy regime.
The debate comes amid continued pressure over petrol prices and government efforts to expand domestic refining and promote alternatives such as compressed natural gas.
The APC-PCC urged Atiku to publish a detailed policy document backed by independent legal and fiscal assessments, saying this was necessary to establish how the proposed intervention would be funded and implemented within Nigeria’s petroleum laws.