Adebayo Warns Petrol Could Hit ₦5,000 Under Second Tinubu Term
The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has warned that petrol could rise to as much as ₦5,000 per litre if President Bola Tinubu secures a second term in office. Adebayo attributed his projection to what he described as the direction of the Federal Government’s economic policies, particularly the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector and the continued floating of the naira. In a statement issued by his campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Comrade Mark Adebayo, the SDP candidate argued that continued naira depreciation could significantly increase the cost of imported petrol, which is priced in US dollars. He said if the exchange rate reaches ₦3,500 to the dollar in the coming years, the landing cost of petrol alone could exceed ₦4,000 per litre. Adebayo also criticised the removal of fuel subsidies, arguing that the policy leaves consumers more exposed to changes in international crude oil prices. According to him, any major increase in global oil prices could translate directly into higher pump prices and further pressure on household incomes.
Adebayo further argued that high fuel prices could worsen inflation by increasing transportation and food costs, while high interest rates and infrastructure challenges could add to the operating expenses of petroleum marketers. He described the current economic direction as overly dependent on taxation, subsidy removal and currency devaluation without sufficient emphasis on domestic production. The SDP candidate said the projected ₦5,000 petrol price was not a certainty but could become a reality if the current policies remained unchanged. He also outlined some of the measures he said his administration would pursue if elected in the 2027 presidential election, including reviving local refining capacity through what he described as transparent public-private partnerships and introducing targeted measures to cushion Nigerians from rising living costs. Adebayo urged Nigerians to demand a change in economic policy, arguing that greater domestic production would be necessary to reduce the economy’s vulnerability to exchange-rate and international oil-price fluctuations.
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