The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has challenged the Federal Government to explain the poor performance of Nigeria’s refineries, following a warning that restoring petrol subsidy could weaken the naira to between N3,000 and N4,000 per dollar.
The party also questioned why a significant portion of the country’s crude oil had been committed to securing foreign loans, alleging that the arrangement was affecting crude supply to the Dangote Refinery.
The NDC’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, was reacting to comments by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, who warned that restoring petrol subsidy could trigger capital flight, erode investor confidence and further weaken the naira.
Director argued that the government should tackle challenges in the petroleum sector and alleged irregularities in the subsidy regime rather than focus solely on the possible economic consequences of restoring the subsidy.
He said addressing these issues would make the minister’s warning unnecessary.
Oyedele had issued the warning at a press briefing during the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, insisting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had made no provision for petrol subsidy in the national budget since June 2023.
