The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has promised to reduce the prices of petrol, cooking gas and aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1, to N200 per litre if elected president in 2027.
Adebayo made the pledge while featuring on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Personality Interview Series in Abuja on Sunday.
The SDP candidate said the proposed price reduction would be achieved within 12 months through the revival of Nigeria’s existing refineries and the creation of an enabling environment for modular refineries to operate.
Adebayo argued that Nigeria’s refineries, despite being nearly 50 years old, remained capable of serving the country if properly rehabilitated. He noted that some refineries in the United States that are more than a century old are still operational.
He also promised to restore what he described as the original subsidy regime, under which 450,000 barrels of crude oil would be reserved for domestic consumption.
According to him, revenue from other products derived from the crude, including naphtha, heavy fuel oil, diesel and kerosene, would be used to sustain the pricing arrangement.
“All other derivatives from the 450,000 barrels, like naphtha, heavy fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, etc., will be sold and the money used to maintain the regime price,” he said.
Adebayo maintained that the ongoing debate over petrol subsidy was distracting attention from the fundamental challenges facing Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
He said the government should prioritise the development of adequate domestic refining capacity rather than relying heavily on imported refined petroleum products sold at international prices.
The SDP candidate argued that Nigeria had a major advantage because of its crude oil resources and existing refining infrastructure, insisting that the country should refine more of its crude locally.
“SDP will pick cooking gas, petrol and Jet A1; those three, we will put them under a regime where the price does not go past N200,” he said.
Adebayo added that his administration would engage the National Assembly on the sale of other petroleum derivatives, with the proceeds used to help maintain the proposed pricing regime.
He further argued that Nigerians would no longer be discussing fuel subsidy under his administration, insisting that subsidy should not be treated as a government economic programme.
The presidential candidate also dismissed the argument that subsidy removal alone would resolve Nigeria’s fiscal challenges, describing the debate as a “red herring”.
He said the government should instead concentrate on making existing refineries functional while supporting the establishment of additional modular refineries to meet domestic demand.
