How will you reduce dependence on generators and improve power reliability?

Q14: Electricity is unreliable and families and businesses spend a large part of their income on generators. How will you make power more reliable and affordable? Answer: My policy is to unbundle state power assets, concession national grid transmission to private investors, get gas supply guarantees for power plants, and encourage captive power generation for industrial zones.

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.

My dear Francis, thank you for taking the time to truly understand what I am proposing. That means a great deal to me. I am not restoring subsidy so that Nigeria can keep paying for imported petrol. I am restoring subsidy so that Nigerians can produce more at home, pay less for fuel, and keep more money in their pockets. That is the difference between import subsidy and production subsidy. Think about shoes. If government wants Nigerians to buy shoes more cheaply, it can spend public money making imported shoes cheaper, or it can support shoemakers in Aba to reduce their production costs so they can make more shoes here, employ more Nigerians and sell at more affordable prices. I choose the Aba shoemaker. I will do the same with fuel. We will support crude refined in Nigeria so our refineries can produce at a lower cost and you can pay less. But for me, this is bigger than fuel. I want the bus fare you pay every morning to come down. I want the cost of taking food from the farm to the market to come down. I want the trader to spend less. I want the barber, tailor, welder and small business owner to spend less on energy.

“My position is straightforward: support what Nigeria produces and refines, lower domestic production costs, and ensure that the benefit reaches the Nigerian consumer. “This is not an import subsidy. If you do not refine in Nigeria, you do not qualify. “The subsidy follows the barrel refined in Nigeria. “Produce here. Refine here. Create jobs here. Pay less here.” Atiku said reducing the underlying cost of energy was important not only because Nigerians buy petrol, but because energy and transportation costs run through agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, markets and household expenditure. “My production-subsidy proposal is therefore not simply a petrol policy. It is part of a broader affordability programme. “I want the farmer to spend less getting produce to market. I want the trader to spend less transporting goods. I want the bus driver to spend less on fuel. I want parents to have more money left after transportation so that they can put better food on the table.

Our People First agenda is gathering momentum across Nigeria. At the heart of that agenda is my firm commitment to make life affordable again for Nigerian families. That includes restoring fuel subsidy—not the old import-dependent system, but a targeted production subsidy that supports fuel refined here in Nigeria, strengthens domestic production and is designed to reduce the price Nigerians pay at the pump. When fuel becomes more affordable, transportation costs can ease. The cost of moving food from farms to markets can come down. Small businesses can breathe again. Families can keep more of their hard-earned money. That is the purpose of our People First policy: put the welfare of Nigerians at the centre of government. The tremendous reception we received in Ondo State today, as we welcomed new members into our great party, the ADC, was deeply encouraging. The enthusiasm was unmistakable.