By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has thrown his weight behind Dangote Refinery’s warning against arbitrary pump-price controls, insisting that his proposed production subsidy would protect Nigerian refineries and reduce domestic production costs without forcing them to sell at a loss.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku accused President Bola Tinubu of deliberately distorting concerns raised by Dangote Refinery in what he described as a desperate attempt to discredit his production subsidy proposal, saying the refinery’s warning actually exposes the dishonesty of the government’s argument.
“Dangote raised a legitimate business concern. The Presidency turned it into a campaign of fear,” Atiku said, adding that a refinery which has invested billions of dollars cannot be commanded to sell indefinitely below cost and absorb the losses, describing such a demand as “reckless, economically destructive and unfair to any private investor.”
He said this was precisely why his proposal differed from what the Presidency had portrayed it to be, explaining that his plan was restoring subsidy through a production subsidy model rather than an import subsidy model. “Import subsidy spends public money supporting petrol refined abroad and brought into Nigeria. Production subsidy supports crude refined here in Nigeria so that Nigerian refineries can produce fuel more cheaply and Nigerians can pay less,” he said.
