The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has claimed that United States President Donald Trump supports his proposal to restore fuel subsidy in Nigeria if elected president in 2027.
Atiku made the claim in a statement issued by his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, titled “Atiku Boasts of Stakeholders, Trump Support on Fuel Subsidy.”
The former Vice President said his proposed policy would differ from the previous fuel subsidy regime, as it would focus on supporting domestic production and refining while making petroleum products more affordable for Nigerians.
According to him, the government would provide support for locally produced petroleum products rather than relying heavily on imported fuel.
Atiku said increasing domestic production and refining capacity would boost supply, ease pressure on consumers and enable Nigerians to benefit from lower prices at filling stations.
He said the proposal, which he described as a “Production Subsidy,” was designed to ensure that government intervention directly benefits consumers while strengthening local production.
“This is why my Production Subsidy is about putting money back into people’s pockets. Support what we produce and refine here, increase supply, monitor the price and make sure Nigerians feel the benefit at the pump,” he said.
Atiku also cited the position of the Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), saying the association had advocated greater support for domestic production.
He further argued that the United States had demonstrated the importance of supporting strategic energy production, before claiming that Trump backed the return of fuel subsidy in Nigeria.
“CORAN is saying support domestic production. America understands the importance of supporting strategic energy production. Trump supports the fuel subsidy return,” Atiku said.
The ADC candidate also criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over its economic policies, accusing the government of providing waivers, incentives and concessions to multinational oil companies and businesses while opposing measures intended to reduce the burden on ordinary Nigerians.
He questioned why government intervention should be considered poor economic policy when the intended beneficiaries were ordinary citizens.
“Yet Tinubu attacks relief for ordinary Nigerians while his government understands perfectly well how to grant waivers, incentives and concessions to multinational oil companies and businesses close to his administration.
“So why does intervention suddenly become bad economics when ordinary Nigerians are meant to benefit?” he asked.
Atiku has repeatedly argued that government intervention in the downstream petroleum sector should be structured around domestic production rather than dependence on imported petroleum products.
His proposal comes amid continuing debate over the impact of fuel pricing policies on households and businesses following the removal of the petrol subsidy by the Federal Government.
The former Vice President is seeking to return to the presidency in the 2027 election on the platform of the ADC, after joining the opposition coalition that has positioned itself as an alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).