The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has promised that petrol, cooking gas and aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1, would be reduced to N200 per litre if he wins the 2027 presidential election.
Adebayo made the pledge during his appearance on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Personality Interview Series on Sunday in Abuja.
He explained that the targeted price reduction would be achieved within 12 months through the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s existing refineries and the creation of a favourable environment for modular refineries to operate and expand.
According to him, Nigeria’s refineries, despite being nearly five decades old, remain capable of being restored to productive use. He compared them with refineries in the United States that are more than a century old but continue to operate.
Adebayo also said he would reinstate what he described as the original subsidy arrangement, under which 450,000 barrels of crude oil were allocated for domestic consumption.
“All other derivatives from the 450,000 barrels like naphtha, heavy fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, etc. will be sold and the money used to maintain the regime price,” he said.
He maintained that the ongoing controversy surrounding petrol subsidy was diverting attention from the more important challenges affecting Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
Rather than continually importing refined petroleum products at international market prices, he said Nigeria should prioritise developing enough domestic refining capacity to meet local demand.
Adebayo said Nigeria has a natural advantage because it has both crude oil resources and existing refining infrastructure, arguing that the country should process more of its crude domestically instead of depending extensively on imported refined products.
“SDP will pick cooking gas, petrol and Jet A1; those three, we will put them under a regime where the price does not go past N200.
“We will go to the National Assembly and demand to see that all the other derivatives that come from it like naphtha and all others, when we sell them, we use the money to equalise the price,” he said.
He further stated that Nigerians would not need to continue debating fuel subsidy if he became president because, in his view, subsidy should not constitute a government economic programme.
He rejected the claim that removing subsidies alone would resolve Nigeria’s financial difficulties, calling the persistent focus on subsidy a “red herring”.
Instead, Adebayo said the government should concentrate on getting the country’s existing refineries fully operational while encouraging the establishment of additional modular refineries capable of supplying local communities.
He also connected his proposed reduction in petroleum prices to his wider transportation agenda, promising to expand public transport and railway services in order to reduce Nigerians’ reliance on private cars.
Under his proposed system, workers and students would be able to access public transportation without direct payment by using employment and student identification cards, while employers would contribute six per cent of workers’ salaries towards transportation.
According to him, combining lower petrol and aviation fuel prices with these transportation measures would make movement more affordable and encourage greater economic activity.
Adebayo also promised that an SDP administration would cap housing expenses at seven per cent of workers’ salaries while providing free education and healthcare.
“The summary of it is that transportation costs cannot go more than six per cent of your salary and housing costs should not be more than seven per cent of your salary; education and healthcare should be free.
“That is basically the thing we are going to do, and to make sure that food is affordable, government will focus on agriculture and ensure food security,” he said.
