‘It’s Not Adding Up’ – Oyedele Tackles Peter Obi Over Petrol Subsidy Promise

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has questioned the logic behind the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi’s proposal to restore petrol subsidy if elected.

Naija News reports that Obi had recently promised to restore petrol subsidy after tackling corruption if elected president in 2027.

During an appearance on Channels Television, Oyedele argued that restoring the subsidy would risk reintroducing the same problems the current administration sought to eliminate.

He maintained that Tinubu’s administration has already addressed the system’s corruption.

“With what Mr President has done, he has removed the corruption. So would you bring the corruption back so that you can fight it, remove it, and then bring back subsidy? It’s not adding up,” the minister said.

Oyedele also dismissed suggestions that petrol prices could be substantially reduced to between ₦400 and ₦1,000 per litre without addressing the underlying costs of production and refining.

“You cannot cut the price of petrol to ₦400, not ₦500, not ₦800, not ₦1000. It’s simple arithmetic. What are the inputs?” he asked.

He explained that refining was a low-margin business that depended largely on high production volumes, making it difficult for operators to sustain significant price reductions without a corresponding reduction in costs.