The Accord Party’s 2027 presidential candidate, Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has pledged to bring down the price of petrol to ₦605 per litre under an Accord-led government, with the possibility of reducing it further to between ₦200 and ₦300 if production costs and the naira exchange rate are stabilised.
Hashim, who has repeatedly criticised the removal of petrol subsidy, said his proposed pricing model would not require the government to sacrifice revenue or reduce allocations to the Federation Account.
“₦605 per litre is our starting sustainable price for petrol. Nobody will buy petrol above ₦610 under our government. It could be as low as ₦200,” he said.
The Accord candidate argued that petrol prices should be determined by the actual cost of producing, refining, transporting and distributing the commodity in Nigeria rather than being automatically tied to international market benchmarks.
He described the previous argument used to justify subsidy removal as “accounting magic”, saying the difference between domestic prices and international benchmarks should not automatically be treated as a subsidy loss.
“Any time you sell a product above its legitimate cost of production, refining, transportation and insurance, you cannot call the difference between that price and an international benchmark a subsidy loss. That is opportunity cost,” he said.
Hashim called for an independent forensic audit of Nigeria’s petroleum value chain to determine the actual cost of delivering petrol to consumers.
He said the review should cover crude oil production, contracting, procurement, refining, transportation, storage, insurance, pipeline operations and distribution.
“Show Nigerians the books. Publish the production cost. Publish refinery cost. Publish transportation. Publish insurance. Publish every margin. Let the data speak,” he said.
He also questioned why Nigeria’s oil production costs remain high compared with those of other major oil-producing nations, pointing to contracting practices, procurement, insecurity and operational inefficiencies as areas that require investigation.
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“Before asking Nigerians to pay more, government must first explain why it costs so much to produce our own oil. If the cost is genuine, show us the evidence. If it is inefficiency, corruption or inflated contracting, fix it,” he said.
According to Hashim, Nigerians should not be made to bear the consequences of inefficiencies within the petroleum sector through higher production costs and pump prices.
“The Nigerian people should not pay for inefficiency twice. They should not pay for inflated costs inside the system and then be told that the resulting high price is the inevitable consequence of subsidy removal,” he said.
He said his proposed petrol pricing strategy would be based mainly on achieving an appropriate production cost and maintaining a stable exchange rate.
Hashim said an Accord administration would target an exchange rate of between ₦525 and ₦700 to the dollar, arguing that greater stability would lower the naira cost of inputs within the petroleum industry and ease pressure on other sectors.
“We will achieve this strictly by ensuring appropriate production cost and appropriate exchange rate,” he said.
The presidential candidate stressed that reducing petrol prices would not mean weakening government finances.
“The reduction will not be at the detriment of government revenue or below current FAAC. We are not going to make petrol cheaper by making government poorer,” he said.
He argued that cheaper and more stable energy costs could boost manufacturing, reduce transportation expenses, improve household purchasing power and expand economic activity.
“Our objective is not simply cheap petrol. Our objective is a productive Nigerian economy in which affordable energy, stronger production and stronger government revenue reinforce one another,” he said.
Hashim clarified that the projected ₦200 to ₦300 pump price was a potential medium-term outcome rather than an immediate promise.
“₦605 is the starting sustainable price. If we get production costs right and achieve the exchange-rate target, the price could come down to ₦200 or ₦300,” he said.
He also proposed faster development of domestic refining capacity, increased transparency in the petroleum sector and measures to eliminate waste and financial leakages.
Hashim maintained that government intervention in petrol pricing could be justified if it was transparent, targeted and linked to clearly defined economic objectives.
“The issue is not whether government can intervene. The issue is whether government intervention is transparent, productive and accountable. Subsidy should protect Nigerians and the productive economy, not enrich intermediaries,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to demand verifiable figures on the cost of producing and distributing petrol rather than relying solely on political arguments surrounding subsidy removal.
“Let the data speak. Tell Nigerians exactly what it costs to produce the crude, what it costs to refine it, what it costs to transport it and what every margin represents. Then we can have an honest conversation about subsidy.”
Hashim said the 2027 presidential election should focus on competing economic policies rather than personalities.
“Nigeria does not have to choose between affordable petrol and government revenue. We can have both. But we must stop using accounting to hide inefficiency and start using economics to build prosperity,” he said.