Subsidy Debate: Makinde Proposes New Route to Cheaper Petrol

Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement Presidential Candidate, Seyi Makinde, has challenged Nigeria's approach to petrol pricing. He argued that the country's status as an oil producer should translate into cheaper fuel for its citizens. Makinde said the solution to high petrol prices was not a return to subsidy but a fundamental review of how crude oil is priced and supplied to domestic refineries. He spoke in Abuja while inaugurating the APM presidential campaign office, against the backdrop of renewed political arguments over the economic consequences of petrol subsidy removal. The governor said his recent intervention on the issue had been wrongly interpreted as an endorsement of subsidy, insisting that his proposal was fundamentally different. 'That is not my position,' Makinde said. According to him, Nigeria should build the benefit of its crude oil production into the domestic refining system rather than allow domestic consumers to bear the full burden of international pricing and other costs. 'If a community grows food, the people of that community should not have to buy that food as though it travelled halfway around the world before reaching them,' he said. Makinde argued that crude supplied to Nigerian refineries should not be priced as if the country were entirely dependent on imported oil. He said the arrangement should produce a direct and measurable benefit for Nigerians. He proposed that such benefit should be incorporated at the point where crude is supplied for domestic refining, rather than introduced later through 'an opaque intervention at the pump'. The governor also demanded greater openness across the petroleum value chain, from crude production and domestic allocation to refining, transportation, distribution, taxation and retail margins. 'Nigerians must be able to see how the final price is reached,' he said. He said Nigerians should be able to determine how much of the pump price goes to each component of the value chain and identify where inefficiencies are adding to the cost. Makinde linked the proposal to his 'Reset Nigeria Agenda', presenting it as part of a broader argument for a more transparent and accountable system of governance. 'We are opening another door for Nigerians to join the conversation about the future of our country,' he said. The intervention comes as the political debate over subsidy removal has increasingly shifted from whether the policy should be reversed to questions about what Nigerians have gained from the savings and how the resulting revenues have been managed. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said on August 19 that subsidy removal had generated N15.8 trillion for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025. Opposition figures, including African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have continued to question the Bola Tinubu administration over its handling of the savings attributed to the policy. Makinde, however, said he is framing the debate differently, arguing that Nigeria should address the underlying structure of petrol pricing rather than simply choose between subsidy payments and higher pump prices. Away from the fuel debate, the governor also rejected suggestions that the APM was entering the 2027 presidential contest merely to make up the numbers. He said the campaign's strength would depend on Nigerians who identify with its proposed changes rather than how established political opponents assess its chances. 'Our voices count. Our experiences count. Our ideas count, and, together, our votes will count,' he said. Makinde added that millions of Nigerians could not be dismissed if they united around a better future for the country. 'They may discount one candidate. But they cannot discount millions of Nigerians united behind a better future,' he said. UPDATE NEWS: Nigerians can now invest ₦2.5 million on premium domains and profit about ₦17-₦25 million. All earnings paid in US Dollars. Rather than wonder, click here to find out how it works.