…Accord presidential candidate says price could eventually fall to ₦200–₦300 if production costs and exchange rate are stabilised
Presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has proposed a starting sustainable petrol price of ₦605 per litre, saying Nigerians should not pay more than ₦610 under an Accord administration.
Hashim said the price could eventually fall to between ₦200 and ₦300 per litre if Nigeria succeeds in reducing petroleum production costs and achieving greater stability in the exchange rate.
The Accord candidate, who has consistently opposed the removal of petroleum subsidy, stressed that his proposal was not based on an opaque or unsustainable subsidy arrangement.
Rather, he said the objective would be to address the underlying factors responsible for the high cost of petrol and build a pricing system that protects consumers without weakening government revenue.
“₦605 per litre is our starting sustainable price for petrol. Nobody will buy petrol above ₦610 under our government. It could be as low as ₦200,” Hashim said.
Hashim described the previous justification for subsidy removal as “accounting magic”, arguing that Nigeria needs to establish the actual cost of producing and delivering petroleum products before determining whether government is genuinely subsidising consumers.
He said comparing the domestic cost of petroleum with international benchmark prices does not automatically mean that the difference amounts to a subsidy loss.
“Any time you sell a product above its legitimate cost of production, refining, transportation and insurance, you cannot call the difference between that price and an international benchmark a subsidy loss. That is opportunity cost,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria should first determine what it actually costs to produce, refine, transport and distribute petrol locally.
“A country does not subsidise itself simply because it chooses to use its own resources to provide affordable energy to its citizens,” Hashim added.
The Accord candidate called for an independent forensic audit of Nigeria’s petroleum cost structure, covering the entire value chain.
He said the audit should examine crude production, contracting, procurement, refining, transportation, storage, insurance, pipeline operations and distribution.
“Show Nigerians the books. Publish the production cost. Publish refinery cost. Publish transportation. Publish insurance. Publish every margin. Let the data speak,” Hashim said.
He also questioned Nigeria’s relatively high oil production costs compared with those of other major oil-producing countries.
Hashim said issues surrounding contracting, procurement, insecurity, operational inefficiency and possible cost inflation must be investigated rather than simply passing the resulting costs to consumers.
“Before asking Nigerians to pay more, government must first explain why it costs so much to produce our own oil. If the cost is genuine, show us the evidence. If it is inefficiency, corruption or inflated contracting, fix it,” he said.
Hashim argued that Nigerians are bearing the cost of inefficiencies in the petroleum sector more than once.
He said consumers are first affected by inefficient or inflated production costs and then forced to pay higher pump prices when those costs are passed through the system.
“The Nigerian people should not pay for inefficiency twice. They should not pay for inflated costs inside the system and then be told that the resulting high price is the inevitable consequence of subsidy removal,” he said.
Hashim identified production costs and the exchange rate as two critical factors that would determine the sustainability of his proposed petrol pricing model.
He said an Accord government would target an exchange rate between ₦525 and ₦700 to the US dollar, arguing that greater stability would reduce the naira cost of petroleum-sector inputs and ease pressure across the wider economy.
“We will achieve this strictly by ensuring appropriate production cost and appropriate exchange rate,” Hashim said.
Hashim maintained that reducing the price of petrol would not require government to sacrifice revenue or reduce Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenues.
“The reduction will not be at the detriment of government revenue or below current FAAC. We are not going to make petrol cheaper by making government poorer,” he said.
He argued that lower energy costs could have wider economic benefits by reducing transportation and manufacturing expenses, increasing household purchasing power and encouraging greater production.
According to Hashim, a more productive economy would ultimately create a broader revenue base for government.
“Our objective is not simply cheap petrol. Our objective is a productive Nigerian economy in which affordable energy, stronger production and stronger government revenue reinforce one another,” he said.
Hashim clarified that the proposed ₦200–₦300 per litre price should be viewed as a potential medium-term outcome rather than an immediate pump-price promise.
He said achieving such a price would depend on Nigeria successfully lowering production costs and improving exchange-rate stability.
“₦605 is the starting sustainable price. If we get production costs right and achieve the exchange-rate target, the price could come down to ₦200 or ₦300,” he said.
He also proposed accelerated domestic refining and greater transparency across the petroleum value chain.
Hashim maintained that government intervention, including subsidy, should not automatically be regarded as wasteful if it is transparent, targeted and designed to achieve measurable economic objectives.
“The issue is not whether government can intervene. The issue is whether government intervention is transparent, productive and accountable. Subsidy should protect Nigerians and the productive economy, not enrich intermediaries,” he said.
The Accord candidate said the debate over petrol pricing should move beyond political slogans and focus on the actual economics of production and distribution.
He challenged policymakers to publish the data behind their respective positions so Nigerians can understand exactly how petrol prices are determined.
“Let the data speak. Tell Nigerians exactly what it costs to produce the crude, what it costs to refine it, what it costs to transport it and what every margin represents. Then we can have an honest conversation about subsidy,” Hashim said.
He added that the 2027 presidential election should be an opportunity for Nigerians to compare competing economic programmes rather than simply choosing between political personalities.
“Nigeria does not have to choose between affordable petrol and government revenue. We can have both. But we must stop using accounting to hide inefficiency and start using economics to build prosperity,” Hashim said.
