ABUJA, Nigeria — A Nigerian policy advocacy group has challenged key opposition figures Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi to a public debate on the feasibility of their proposals to restore fuel subsidies.
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) urged the political leaders to present a realistic blueprint for how their policy alternatives would function without pushing the nation into fiscal distress.
In a statement signed by IMPI Chairman Omoniyi Akinsiju, the policy group stated that electoral promises must be backed by rigorous economic logic rather than rhetoric aimed at voters.”If Candidate Atiku’s proposed ‘production subsidy’ model or Candidate Obi’s alternative framework are viable economic solutions, both leaders must step forward and directly answer critical posers ranging from ownership and equity to revenue deficits,” Akinsiju said.
The group raised several technical questions for both candidates, including:Revenue Deficits: How local governments and states would cover lost revenue from discounted crude sales, given that oil receipts fund the country’s main allocation pool. Legal Framework: How a return to price-fixing aligns with the statutory provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which mandates market-driven pricing.Cross-Border Arbitrage: What measures would prevent subsidized products from being smuggled across borders, a key issue under previous subsidy regimes. Budget Transparency: Whether subsidy payments would be captured explicitly in the national budget or managed off-budget through national oil firm deductions.
IMPI warned that re-entering any form of price support mechanism risks destabilizing Nigeria’s credit standing and long-term path toward energy independence. It called on both politicians to present empirical roadmaps detailing their proposed frameworks to the Nigerian public.
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