Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said his plan to restore fuel subsidy is aimed at supporting domestic refining and reducing the cost of petrol, rather than subsidising imported fuel.

Atiku made the clarification in a series of posts on his X platform on Saturday, describing the proposed policy as a “production subsidy” rather than an import subsidy.

He explained that the government would support crude oil refined locally to enable domestic refineries to produce petrol at lower costs and pass the savings on to consumers.

Using shoemaking as an analogy, Atiku said government could either spend public funds to make imported shoes cheaper or support local shoemakers in Aba to reduce their production costs, create jobs and sell at more affordable prices.

“I choose the Aba shoemaker,” he said.

According to him, the same principle would apply to fuel, with government supporting domestic refining to lower production costs and make petrol more affordable.

Atiku said the policy would go beyond reducing petrol prices, arguing that cheaper fuel would help ease the wider cost-of-living crisis by lowering transportation, food distribution and energy costs for households and businesses.

“I want the bus fare you pay every morning to come down. I want the cost of taking food from the farm to the market to come down. I want the trader to spend less. I want the barber, tailor, welder and small business owner to spend less on energy,” he said.

He added that his objective was to put more money in Nigerians’ pockets by reducing expenditure on fuel and transportation while easing pressure on food prices.

“I will make life affordable again. I will make Nigeria affordable again. It is a promise,” Atiku said.

In another post responding to a prayer from a follower, the former vice-president urged Nigerians to help explain his proposed production subsidy, particularly its potential impact on women and families.