Petrol prices are shaping up as the central economic argument of the 2027 race, and this week it took a biblical turn.
Moses and Egypt
President Bola Tinubu, defending the removal of the petrol subsidy he announced on his first day in office in 2023, likened calls to bring back the subsidy to asking Moses to return to Egypt.
Atiku’s reply
On Tuesday 20 October 2026, Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, turned the image around. In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu of the ADC campaign, he said the comparison showed “how little he understands the suffering of Nigerians,” adding: “Bola, you are the Egypt Nigerians are desperate to escape.” He accused Tinubu of governing like Pharaoh, Herod and Ahab combined.
Atiku used the statement to restate his own proposal: limited, budgeted support only for petroleum products refined in Nigeria, with independent audits. He also raised insecurity and police welfare, citing a retired officer’s claim of a ₦29,000 monthly pension and calling for action on the Police Exit Bill.
The two plans, briefly
- The government’s measures: a discount for buyers using the NNPC app at NNPC Retail stations, a temporary waiver of NNPC Retail’s margin, and a proposed ₦1,350 per litre ceiling on petrol’s landing cost, with refiners and importers absorbing costs above the cap at first. These are paid for mainly by NNPC Retail and suppliers rather than the budget, the government says.
- Atiku’s proposal: support at the refinery end, for example by selling crude to local refiners below market price, on condition that pump prices fall. His campaign says it would be funded by cutting waste, without new taxes, but has not published a rate, cap or annual cost. An APC estimate of ₦17 trillion to ₦21 trillion a year has not been independently checked.
