The Presidency has said Atiku Abubakar’s proposed petrol subsidy plan could cost Nigeria N19.1 trillion annually if implemented, arguing that the policy would place a huge burden on the country’s finances.
Otega Ogra, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Digital and New Media, disclosed this while appearing on a TVC News programme on Tuesday.
This came days after Atiku declared that he will restore subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Ogra said the estimate was based on crude oil selling at about $80 per barrel, with Nigeria having to subsidise roughly $40 per barrel.
“So calculate that. It comes to about N19.1 trillion per year, N52.3 billion daily, N1.5 trillion monthly. And for every time you breathe or before you even complete a breath, it’s going to cost you N605,000 per Nigerian,” Ogra said.
He also questioned how an Atiku administration would fund the proposed intervention and accused the former vice president’s plan of potentially benefiting wealthy players in the oil sector.
“So for Alhaji Atiku, my question to you here is, where are the barrels for your subsidy going to come from? Where is the money that you’re going to give to your billionaire friends using your own plan?” he said.
Ogra further criticised Atiku for failing to provide what he described as sufficient details about the proposed subsidy arrangement.
“You failed to put the estimates in your plan, you failed to put the cap in your plan, you failed to put how many barrels of oil Nigeria is going to need in your plan,” he said.
The presidential aide said the estimated N19.1 trillion annual cost was large enough to fund the N70,000 minimum wage for 22 million Nigerians for a year, based on the amount shared at the Federation Account Allocation Committee in July.
Ogra also defended Tinubu’s decision to remove petrol subsidy in 2023, saying the administration had stopped a system that allowed public resources to be diverted through what he described as rent-seeking.
“Before Mr. President came in in 2023 and undertook his reforms, we all know what was happening in the economy: rent-seeking,” he said.
“A few Nigerians were taking all the commonwealth of Nigerians, using various fraudulent schemes like the FX arbitrage that was there, the rent-seeking on the subsidy programs.”
He described Atiku’s position as “a very ignorant take and shows a lack of knowledge” about the economy, while also calling it “an uneducated take” on how the country should be managed.
The latest exchange follows Atiku’s promise to restore subsidy if elected president. The ADC presidential candidate said that his proposed intervention would focus on easing the financial pressure on Nigerians.
“On the question of subsidy, my position has not changed and will not change: I will restore it!” Atiku said.
Atiku has argued that rising petrol prices have pushed up transportation and food costs, worsening the hardship faced by households.
“When fuel rises, transport rises. When transport rises, food rises. When food rises, families suffer,” he said.
He also insisted that his proposal was not aimed at bringing back the old import-based subsidy system.
“I will not restore the import racket; I will restore relief,” Atiku said.
His Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, similarly described the proposed policy as a “targeted, capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited subsidy” designed to support domestic refining and production.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has consistently defended the 2023 subsidy removal as necessary to free resources for other areas of the economy. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said on August 19 that savings from the removal of petrol subsidy had generated N15.8 trillion in resources for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
