What is your plan for the ports, where clearing goods costs more than shipping them here?

That is why the Atiku Economic Recovery Plan, AERP, begins with a simple principle: Reduce the cost at source instead of allowing prices to explode and then arriving with palliatives. Under AERP, support would be targeted at Nigerian crude supplied for domestic refining within a capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited framework. The crude would be tracked. Refined products would be monitored. And the intervention would carry a clear consumer pass-through obligation so that the benefit does not stop with the refinery or marketer but reaches Nigerians at the pump. The economics is straightforward. Reduce fuel costs and you reduce pressure on transportation. Reduce transportation costs and you reduce the cost of moving tomatoes, rice, yam, livestock and manufactured goods. Reduce those costs and more of a worker’s income remains available for food, rent, education and healthcare. That is structural relief.

Atiku’s argument is precisely the opposite. Reduce the cost of energy so that salaries buy more. Reduce transport costs so that less of a worker’s wage disappears merely getting to work. Reduce the cost of moving food so families spend less in the market. Reduce the cost of living so students spend less on upkeep and parents have more money left after food, rent and transportation. You cannot make life painfully expensive, push students towards debt to survive the consequences, and then frighten those same students that cheaper fuel will take their loans away. Nor can you tell workers that a policy designed to restore value to their wages will somehow take those wages from them. That is not economic reform. It is scarecrow propaganda built on witchcraft economics. And while you celebrate statistics, Nigerians still deserve answers about the enormous sums surrounding your so-called reforms. Your government says subsidy removal mobilised about ₦15.8 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025. Nigerians surrendered cheap fuel. They paid more for transportation. They paid more for food. They watched the value of their wages collapse. So what measurable improvement reached the average Nigerian household in exchange for that sacrifice?

If government wants rice to become cheaper, it has two choices: spend money making imported rice cheaper, or help Nigerian farmers reduce the cost of producing rice at home. The second option lowers prices while also creating jobs, strengthening local businesses and keeping economic activity in Nigeria. “That is exactly what we are proposing for fuel. *We are restoring subsidy, but moving it from importation to production.* “The subsidy follows the barrel refined in Nigeria.” Atiku said his proposal would reduce the cost of crude feedstock supplied to qualifying domestic refineries through a transparent, capped and independently verified mechanism. “If the crude entering a refinery becomes cheaper, the cost of producing petrol should also come down. That reduction should then reach the average Nigerian while preserving legitimate refining costs and a reasonable commercial margin.

“Our proposal is clear: support domestic production, reduce the cost of crude going into Nigerian refineries, protect legitimate refinery margins and ensure that lower production costs translate into lower costs for Nigerians.” Atiku said the Presidency should stop inventing a policy for him and then attacking the fiction it created. “We have been clear from the beginning. “We are restoring subsidy through a production model. “We are proposing a production subsidy not an import subsidy. We are not proposing to subsidise petrol refined abroad. We are not proposing to force Dangote or any other Nigerian refinery to sell below cost. “We are proposing targeted support for crude refined here in Nigeria so that domestic refineries can produce more competitively, expand capacity, create jobs and sell fuel at a price Nigerians can better afford.

2. Fix logistics and transport to lower the cost of goods. We will reduce the cost of moving people and goods across Nigeria by improving key transport systems and removing bottlenecks. ● Shift heavy cargo from roads to rail and waterways, reducing congestion and road damage ● Build rail links connecting ports, industrial zones, and agricultural hubs ● Develop logistics hubs and depots outside major cities to ease urban congestion ● Improve rural roads to connect farmers to markets 3. Reform transport infrastructure through private sector participation. Government will shift from being the primary operator to an enabler and regulator. 30

● Create clear and stable regulatory frameworks to attract long-term investment ● Partner with capable private firms to operate rail, ports, airports, and waterways ● Encourage indigenous participation in shipping, logistics, and transport services 4. Build a more practical and accessible transportation system. We will prioritize efficiency over prestige projects in the transportation sector ● Partner with states to develop existing transportation infrastructure ● Strengthen regional transportation connectivity within West Africa The ADC will: 1. Promote exports as a driver of economic growth and job creation. We will support Nigerian businesses to compete and win in regional and global markets, with a strong focus on value-added exports and intra-African trade. 2. Provide targeted incentives to support exporters. We will introduce support mechanisms to reduce the cost of exporting and encourage Nigerian businesses to expand into regional and international markets. ● Provide export subsidies and incentives for export ● Support standardization, logistics, warehousing, and port efficiency to reduce export bottlenecks and costs ● Offer financing and credit support for small and medium-scale exporters ● Prioritize support for value-added goods rather than raw exports