Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has faulted Nigeria’s fuel subsidy debate, saying the country should focus on developing an effective petroleum pricing model suited to its status as an oil-producing nation.
Makinde argued that the debate should not be limited to whether fuel subsidy should be restored or remain removed, but should instead focus on whether the current pricing framework is fair and allows Nigerians to benefit from the country’s natural resources.
He made the remarks while outlining his vision for the “Reset Nigeria” movement, which he said was aimed at rebuilding the country’s systems and institutions to work for every Nigerian.
“I believe we are asking the wrong question. The more important question is: what is the right pricing framework for an oil-producing country like Nigeria?” he said.
According to Makinde, Nigerians deserve to know the factors determining the prices they pay at the pump, including crude oil price benchmarks, refining costs and margins, exchange-rate assumptions, logistics and distribution costs, taxes and levies, as well as other variables used in the calculation.
He said the information should be publicly accessible and sufficiently clear to enable Nigerians to scrutinise the basis of the prices they pay and compare them with available alternatives.
The governor also rejected the argument that Nigerians should pay more for petroleum products simply to eliminate the price difference that makes smuggling into neighbouring countries profitable.
“Nigerians should not be made to bear the cost of government’s inability to secure its borders,” he said.
Makinde said Nigeria needed to interrogate the petroleum pricing system itself rather than continue to frame the issue solely around fuel subsidy.
“The petroleum question should therefore not simply be whether subsidy should return or remain removed. It should be whether the pricing system we are using is the right one for Nigeria and whether it allows Nigerians to derive a fair benefit from the natural resources they own,” he said.
He said he would present an alternative petroleum pricing model in the coming weeks and allow Nigerians to judge it for themselves.
Makinde said the broader “Reset Nigeria” agenda would also address the country’s economy, security architecture, education system, institutions and social and political order.
He said achieving a national reset would require both accountable leadership and active citizenship, stressing that the process would not be an instant transformation or the work of one person.
