Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has promised to bring down the prices of petrol, cooking gas and aviation fuel, known as Jet A1, to no more than N200 per litre if elected president in 2027.
Adebayo made the pledge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, saying his proposed pricing policy would be introduced within his first 12 months in office.
He said an SDP administration would focus on restoring Nigeria’s existing refineries while supporting the development and operation of modular refineries to reduce the country’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products.
According to Adebayo, the age of Nigeria’s refineries should not prevent the government from rehabilitating them. He pointed to refineries in the United States that have operated for more than a century as examples of facilities that can remain useful with proper maintenance and investment.
“SDP will pick cooking gas, petrol and Jet A1; those three, we will put them under a regime where the price does not go past N200,” he said.
Adebayo said the policy would also involve returning to what he described as the original subsidy arrangement, under which 450,000 barrels of crude oil are allocated for domestic consumption.
Under the proposed system, he said the crude would be processed locally, while by-products such as naphtha, heavy fuel oil, diesel and kerosene would be sold. Revenue generated from those products would then be used to support the proposed pricing structure.
He said the SDP would collaborate with the National Assembly to create a framework for using revenue from other petroleum derivatives to sustain the scheme.
Adebayo argued that Nigeria’s priority should be expanding its domestic refining capacity rather than importing refined petroleum products at international market prices.
He said the country already possesses two important resources needed to achieve this — substantial crude oil reserves and existing refining infrastructure.
The SDP candidate also criticised the focus on petrol subsidy removal, arguing that the debate had taken attention away from deeper challenges within the petroleum sector.
He described the claim that eliminating petrol subsidy alone would solve Nigeria’s fiscal difficulties as a “red herring”.
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Adebayo said Nigerians would not have to deal with petrol subsidy under an SDP-led government, maintaining that subsidy should not be treated as a government economic programme.
His proposals also extend beyond fuel costs to transportation, housing, education and healthcare.
He said his administration would combine lower petroleum prices with expanded public transportation and rail services. Workers and students, he added, would be able to use employment and student identification cards to access public transport, while employers would contribute six per cent of workers’ salaries towards transportation.
According to Adebayo, the measures would reduce the cost of movement for Nigerians while encouraging wider economic activity.
He also proposed capping housing expenses at seven per cent of workers’ salaries, alongside free education and healthcare.
“The summary of it is that transportation costs cannot go more than six percent of your salary and housing costs should not be more than seven percent of your salary, education and healthcare should be free,” he said.
Adebayo further identified agriculture and food security as key areas his administration would prioritise, with the aim of reducing food prices and making basic necessities more affordable for Nigerians.