Hashim Says Petrol Could Sell for N605, Fall to N200 Under Accord Government
- Accord Party presidential candidate Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim set a maximum petrol price of N610 per litre under any government he leads
- Hashim called for a forensic audit of Nigeria's full petroleum cost chain, from crude production to distribution, before any pricing decision
- The candidate linked cheaper petrol to hitting an exchange rate target of between N525 and N700 to the dollar, with no reduction in FAAC revenue
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Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, the Accord Party's presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, has said that petrol should not cost Nigerians more than N610 per litre under his administration, and that the price could eventually fall as low as N200 per litre if Nigeria corrects its production costs and stabilises its exchange rate.
Hashim described N605 per litre as a "starting sustainable price," not a subsidised one, and said the reduction would not reduce government revenue or affect Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements.
Source: Getty Images
He said:
"N605 per litre is our starting sustainable price for petrol. Nobody will buy petrol above N610 under our government. It could be as low as N200."
**Hashim Rejects "Accounting Magic" on Subsidy**
The Accord candidate, who has consistently opposed the way petroleum subsidy removal was handled, argued that Nigeria has never properly established what it actually costs to produce and deliver a litre of petrol to the domestic market. He described previous justifications for subsidy removal as "accounting magic," saying the government compared domestic prices against international benchmarks rather than real production costs.
he said:
"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
"Show Nigerians the books. Publish the production cost. Publish refinery cost. Publish transportation. Publish insurance. Publish every margin. Let the data speak.""
Hashim called for an independent forensic audit covering crude production, refining, procurement, contracting, transportation, storage, pipeline operations and distribution, with all figures published openly.
He argued that Nigeria's relatively high production costs, compared with other major oil-producing countries, deserve serious scrutiny, pointing to factors such as inflated contracting, operational inefficiency and insecurity.
"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."
Source: Twitter
Exchange Rate and Revenue at the Centre of the Plan
Hashim said his pricing framework rests on two variables: getting production costs right and achieving exchange rate stability. His administration would target a naira rate of between N525 and N700 to the US dollar, which he said would bring down the naira cost of petroleum inputs across the board.
He was firm that cheaper petrol would not mean a poorer government.
He said:
"We are not going to make petrol cheaper by making government poorer. 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"
The candidate added that lower energy costs would cut transportation and manufacturing expenses, raise household purchasing power and ultimately grow the tax base from which government earns revenue.
Source: Legit.ng
