Fuel Price: Atiku Reacts as Petrol Hits ₦1,470 Per Litre
- Atiku Abubakar accused the Tinubu administration of failing to account for Federation Account deductions and oil revenues since 2023
- The former Vice President pointed to June 2025 FAAC figures showing ₦4.232 trillion in gross revenue against ₦1.818 trillion distributed
- Atiku compared current fuel prices to the Yar'Adua era, when petrol sold at ₦65 per litre even as crude oil traded near $147 per barrel
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Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
FCT, Abuja - The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has attacked the Tinubu administration over the rising cost of petrol, now selling at as much as ₦1,470 per litre.
The Former Vice President demanded a full public reckoning of subsidy savings, Federation Account deductions and oil revenues accumulated since 2023.
Source: Twitter
This was contained in a statement issued by Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, and made available to Legit.ng on Monday, September 14, 2026,
It came nearly three and a half years after the federal government removed the petrol subsidy, a policy sold to Nigerians as a way to free up funds for education, healthcare and infrastructure.
"Petrol at ₦1,470 per litre is not merely a figure at the filling station. It enters the price of transportation, food, school runs, farming, manufacturing and virtually everything Nigerians buy. Every increase at the pump travels directly into the household budget," Atiku said.
Where are the subsidy savings?
Atiku pointed to official FAAC data for June 2025, which recorded gross Federation Account revenue of ₦4.232 trillion but distributed only ₦1.818 trillion, with the remainder categorised under cost of collection, transfers, interventions, refunds and savings.
He said those figures alone justify a detailed reconciliation covering every deduction made before distribution, the statutory authority behind each, and the accounts that received the funds.
The ADC flagbearer also called for disclosure on the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, OML 143, NNPC's LNG trading operations, offshore corporate structures, and what he described as allegations involving unofficial crude lifting and maritime surveillance contracts.
"These allegations are too serious to be answered with press statements and political insults. Every barrel can be measured, every cargo identified and every legitimate payment traced. If everything is in order, publish the records and allow independent forensic auditors to reconcile them," he said.
Comparing Nigeria to Yar'Adua era and United States
Atiku rejected the argument that global oil prices explain the current situation. He noted that in 2008, when crude oil peaked at about $147 per barrel, Nigerians paid just ₦65 per litre under the Yar'Adua administration.
Today, with crude trading around $102.52 per barrel, pump prices are more than twenty times higher.
He also drew a comparison with the United States, where petrol costs about $4.31 per gallon, roughly $1.14 per litre, supported by a federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Nigeria's minimum wage stands at ₦70,000 per month.
"Tinubu has brought Nigerians close to American fuel prices while leaving them with Nigerian poverty wages. That is the true cost of his subsidy-removal policy," Atiku said.
He closed with a direct challenge to the presidency: "After all the oil, all the revenue, all the deductions and all the hardship, petrol is now ₦1,470 per litre. The question Tinubu must answer is simple: where are the savings, where are the revenues, and who is taking Nigeria's money?"
Source: UGC
Fuel subsidy removal: Atiku demands Tinubu answer
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of failing to deliver on promises made when the fuel subsidy was removed in 2023.
Atiku's statement, issued through his aide Phrank Shaibu, pointed to the looming ASUU strike as evidence that subsidy savings never reached education.
The ADC presidential candidate questioned the logic of NELFUND loans, saying the government helped create the hardship it now offers students debt to survive.
Source: Legit.ng
