ATIKU ACCUSES TINUBU OF FAVOURING OIL FIRMS WITH TAX INCENTIVES AS PETROL PRICES RISE
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By:Tajudeen Aminat
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government over its tax incentives and other concessions to oil companies, arguing that Nigerians are being forced to endure high petrol prices and worsening living costs.
Atiku, who is the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, made the remarks in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
He faulted President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy while the government continues to offer tax credits, concessions and other incentives to petroleum investors.
Atiku argued that the policy was contradictory, noting that Nigerians had been told that removing the subsidy was necessary to achieve economic reforms.
He said deep offshore oil and gas incentives allow eligible projects to receive production tax credits of between $3 and $4.50 per barrel, with other incentives potentially raising the total benefit to $11.50 per barrel in some cases.
Atiku questioned whether the Tinubu administration was opposed to government intervention generally or only when such interventions benefited Nigerians.
He also challenged the claim that petrol subsidy payments had completely ended, citing NNPC Limited’s audited accounts, which he said recorded about N4.84tn in energy-security expenses and related shortfalls in 2023 and approximately N7.13tn in 2024.
According to him, part of the expenditure was attributed to the difference between the exchange rate used to determine regulated petrol prices and the rate applied when import obligations were settled.
Atiku argued that regardless of how such payments were described, public funds were still being used to cover the gap between the cost of petrol and its selling price.
He said his proposed economic recovery programme would not restore the previous subsidy regime, which he described as opaque and open-ended.
Instead, he promised to introduce a targeted and capped intervention that would be properly budgeted and independently audited, while boosting local production, expanding refining capacity, improving competition and restoring household purchasing power.
Atiku also called for greater transparency in the tax credits, remissions and other incentives granted to petroleum companies, including disclosure of beneficiaries, the revenue involved and the investments delivered in return.
He further advocated equal and transparent access to similar incentives for Nigerian investors.
The former vice-president said the success of economic reforms should ultimately be measured by their impact on citizens’ living standards rather than the level of hardship they are able to endure.
Atiku had last week pledged to restore the petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, a proposal Tinubu subsequently criticised, describing him as “ignorant of governance and the economy.”
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