SDP chieftain says reliance on market forces to determine fuel price not in Nigeria’s interest

 

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has warned Nigerians to brace up for higher fuel prices, noting that the current increase is only the beginning.

He added that the price of fuel will continue  to increase even as he urges Nigerians not to waste their tears because price hikes are inevitable as the government continues to rely on market forces to determine fuel prices.

According to him, President Bola Tinubu is currently using the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to artificially keep prices lower than they would be under true market conditions.

However, he warned that this strategy is unsustainable, given the NNPCL’s financial struggles, including substantial debt.

Adebayo had previously expressed concerns about the removal of the subsidy, predicting a sharp increase in petrol prices.

He added that removing the fuel subsidy was a misstep, one that would drive petrol prices towards an unsustainable equilibrium.

“I knew that one of the greatest mistakes you could ever make was to adopt a policy of removing the subsidy,” Adebayo said.

He had stated that market forces would inevitably push the price up, making it unaffordable for ordinary Nigerians.

His opposition to the removal of fuel subsidy stems from his belief that the true cost of subsidy removal far outweighs the financial burden it placed on the government.

He cited the impact on productivity, social unrest and economic dislocation as reasons why he opposed the policy then, and now, arguing that when considering all the associated costs, maintaining the subsidy would have been the more prudent choice.

According to him, these costs outweigh the savings from subsidy removal by a factor of five to one.

“If removal of subsidy is a good thing, then all of you should send a letter of congratulations to President Tinubu,” he stated, alluding to the widespread discontent following the subsidy removal.

He criticized President Tinubu, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who all campaigned for the removal of fuel subsidy during the 2023 electioneering, while maintaining that he wouldn’t have removed subsidy if he was elected.

Adebayo said that the removal of the subsidy reflected an economic philosophy that placed the interests of the elite over the needs of ordinary Nigerians.

He noted that while the political and business elite enjoy numerous subsidies for housing, vehicles and other benefits, the subsidy on petrol, which benefits the broader population, was deemed problematic.

He said this as an example of social injustice, with the deep economic inequalities in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Adebayo acknowledged the complexity of the issue while calling for a systematic policy shift that would reduce Nigeria’s reliance on petrol.

He pointed to alternative energy sources, such as electric vehicles, and urged the government to implement policies that would minimize the impact of rising fuel prices on ordinary Nigerians.