{
  "id": 6797634,
  "title": "Atiku: We’re restoring subsidy, but moving it from importation to production",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/atiku-were-restoring-subsidy-but-moving-it-from-importation-to",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-11T18:43:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Trust",
    "slug": "daily-trust",
    "url": "https://dailytrust.com/atiku-were-restoring-subsidy-but-moving-it-from-importation-to-production/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Tinubu Presidency of misleading concerns raised by Dangote Refinery to discredit his production subsidy proposal. In a statement, Atiku clarified that the refinery was correct in its concerns about not being forced to bear losses created by government-imposed prices. However, he argued that the government was being dishonest by suggesting his proposal would force refineries to sell below cost. Atiku emphasized that his proposal restores subsidy through a production subsidy model, not an import subsidy model. He explained that import subsidy involves spending public money to support petrol refined abroad and brought into Nigeria, while production subsidy supports crude refined in Nigeria, making fuel cheaper for Nigerians. Atiku suggested that this approach would lower prices while creating jobs, strengthening local businesses, and keeping economic activity within the country, much like making imported rice cheaper. His plan would reduce the cost of crude feedstock supplied to qualifying domestic refineries using a transparent, capped, and independently verified mechanism. If crude becomes cheaper, the cost of producing petrol should also decrease, benefiting Nigerians while preserving refinery costs and margins. Atiku accused the government of falsely equating every subsidy with import dependence, a misleading tactic designed to mislead Nigerians. He stated that support under his plan would be strictly tied to crude refined in Nigeria, benefiting Nigerian refineries, workers, businesses, and consumers. Atiku stressed the importance of protecting the commercial viability of domestic refineries, which would require more refineries, investments, competition, and refining capacity. He also criticized the Tinubu administration for turning hardship into an ideology and for threatening catastrophe over a production subsidy that aims to reduce the cost of fuel, transport, and food for ordinary Nigerians.",
  "summary": "Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Tinubu Presidency of deliberately distorting concerns raised by Dangote Refinery in an attempt to discredit his production subsidy proposal, saying the refinery’s warning against arbitrary pump-price controls actually exposes the dishonesty of the government’s argument. In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Post Nigeria",
        "title": "Fuel price subsidy: Tinubu’s presidency turned Dangote model into campaign strategy – Atiku",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/fuel-price-subsidy-tinubus-presidency-turned-dangote-model-into",
        "published": "2026-09-11T17:38:27.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}