Duke Dismisses Fuel Subsidy Debate As Scam, Says Petrol Can Sell For N200

Former Cross River State Governor and presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party, Donald Duke, has dismissed Nigeria’s fuel subsidy debate as a “scam”, arguing that petrol could sell for about N200 per litre if the country properly harnesses its crude oil resources and other petroleum products.

Duke spoke amid differing positions on fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu and former presidential candidates Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy in May 2023, describing the decision as necessary to redirect government resources to other areas. 

Atiku has advocated a targeted subsidy to cushion the impact of high living costs, while Obi has opposed the return of subsidy and called for savings from its removal to be transparently invested in productive and social sectors.

But Duke said the debate had failed to properly consider Nigeria’s crude oil production and the range of products that could be derived from it.

“Look, I don’t believe there’s any subsidy in fuel,” Duke said.

“For a barrel of crude oil, there are about seven by-products. The two consequential ones are diesel and petrol,PMS and AGOand kerosene, aviation fuel and all those things.

“You sell them at commercial rates, okay? Work it out. You can almost sell petrol today at N200 a litre, not the N1,000-plus.

“So that thing about subsidy, I think, is the biggest scam that has been perpetrated, maybe globally.”

The former governor also questioned Nigeria’s continued energy challenges despite its vast natural resources.

“You’re an energy-blessed country,” he said, listing hydrocarbons, solar, hydro, uranium and lithium among the country’s energy resources.

“Why are we still energy-poor? Because the political will is not there. But even beyond the political will, we’re not thinking through this.”

Duke also criticised the continued flaring of natural gas while households and businesses face high energy costs.

“We easily flare two billion cubic feet of gas a day,” he said, arguing that the wasted gas could generate significant energy for the country.

He further questioned Nigeria’s reliance on international fuel prices without adequately considering the country’s own resource endowments.

“When I hear excuses like, ‘Oh, it’s cheaper in America,’ or, ‘We’re cheaper than it is in America,’ every country has its own endowments,” Duke said.

“You’ve got to use what you’ve got to get what you want.”

Duke also questioned Nigeria’s inability to meet domestic gas demand despite the existence of the West African Gas Pipeline, which supplies gas to neighbouring countries.

“You have a West African Gas Pipeline, but you don’t have any self-sufficiency in gas in your country,” he said. “There’s something wrong somewhere. We’re not thinking.”

He maintained that Nigeria’s energy problems could be addressed if the government focused more on developing domestic resources and reducing the cost of energy for citizens and industries.

“Why are we still energy-poor?” he asked. “The political will is not there. We’re not thinking through our problems.”