IMPI Challenges Atiku, Obi to Public Debate on Fuel Subsidy Restoration

Oru Leonard

The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi to a public debate on the feasibility of their proposed fuel subsidy restoration plans.

The policy group urged the presidential aspirants to provide clear, practical and financially sustainable explanations of how their proposed subsidy frameworks would operate without worsening Nigeria’s fiscal challenges.

In a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, IMPI criticised the two opposition figures for what it described as populist rhetoric unsupported by transparent and economically viable implementation plans.

The group specifically questioned Atiku’s proposed production subsidy model and Obi’s alternative framework, demanding detailed explanations of their implications for government revenue, crude oil ownership, petroleum pricing and the country’s fiscal stability.

According to Akinsiju, political campaign promises should be based on sound economic reasoning rather than proposals designed to attract temporary electoral support.

He challenged both politicians to explain how their proposed policies would address critical questions concerning ownership and equity, revenue deficits, petroleum smuggling, legal compliance and budgetary transparency.

On crude oil ownership, IMPI questioned how a government intending to restore subsidies would compel international oil companies (IOCs) operating joint ventures and private crude oil producers to sell their commercially owned crude to domestic refiners at government-mandated discounted prices.

The group warned that such a policy could trigger international arbitration, contractual disputes and a loss of investor confidence if implemented without adequate legal and commercial safeguards.

IMPI also raised concerns about the potential impact of discounted crude sales on government revenue, noting that crude oil exports remain a major source of foreign exchange earnings and revenue for the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

It asked Atiku and Obi to explain how their administrations would compensate for possible revenue shortfalls affecting the federal, state and local governments if crude oil were sold domestically at below-market prices.

The policy group further demanded details of the administrative measures the candidates would introduce to prevent subsidised crude oil and petroleum products from being diverted across borders for profit.

According to IMPI, the absence of effective monitoring mechanisms could recreate the cross-border arbitrage and diversion challenges associated with Nigeria’s previous fuel subsidy regime.

On the legal implications, the group questioned how a return to government-controlled petroleum pricing or crude oil price differentials would align with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which provides for market-based pricing in the deregulated downstream petroleum sector.

It also demanded clarification on whether any proposed subsidy or support mechanism would be explicitly captured in the national budget and approved by the National Assembly.

Akinsiju warned against a return to off-budget subsidy arrangements and unappropriated deductions by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), which he said could undermine public finances and increase government borrowing.

He maintained that Nigerians deserved detailed explanations of the economic implications of any proposal to restore fuel subsidies rather than generalised political arguments.

“Re-entering a subsidy regime under any name—whether branded as a ‘production subsidy’ or an ‘interim welfare bridge’—threatens to reverse hard-won fiscal stability, endanger international credit standing, and derail the long-term path toward energy independence driven by domestic refining and local currency crude transactions,” he said.

The IMPI chairman added that the electorate deserved a step-by-step implementation plan supported by empirical evidence to demonstrate how the proposed subsidy arrangements would be funded, administered and sustained.

“We challenge Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr Peter Obi to move beyond generalized criticism and present a step-by-step, empirically-backed implementation roadmap that addresses these fundamental questions before the Nigerian public,” Akinsiju stated.

The group maintained that any proposed return to fuel subsidies must demonstrate how it would protect vulnerable Nigerians without compromising government revenue, investor confidence and the sustainability of public finances.