Adebayo Warns Petrol Could Hit ₦5,000 per Litre Under Tinubu’s Second Term

Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has warned that petrol prices could rise to ₦5,000 per litre if President Bola Tinubu secures a second term, attributing the projection to the government’s deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector and the floating of the naira.

In a statement issued by his Chief Communications Adviser, Mark Adebayo, he argued that continued naira depreciation would increase the cost of imported, dollar-denominated petroleum products. Adebayo said that if the exchange rate reaches ₦3,500 to $1, the landing cost of petrol alone could exceed ₦4,000, before other expenses are added.

Adebayo also criticised the removal of petrol subsidy, arguing that it leaves consumers more exposed to fluctuations in international crude oil prices and could intensify inflation when global prices rise. He said higher petrol prices increase transportation costs, which in turn contribute to food inflation and declining purchasing power.

At the same time, oil marketers also face high borrowing costs, port expenses and distribution challenges. He described the government’s approach as an adoption of “foreign IMF-style models” and argued that Nigeria cannot rely on taxes, subsidy removal and currency devaluation without increasing domestic production.

The SDP candidate maintained that ₦5,000 per litre is a possible outcome of the current economic direction, while proposing greater domestic refining capacity as an alternative. If elected, he said an SDP administration would revive local refining through transparent public-private partnerships and introduce targeted measures to cushion consumers from economic shocks.

Adebayo also recently pledged that, if elected in 2027, his government would seek to reduce petrol, cooking gas, and aviation fuel prices to ₦200 per litre within its first year, through the revitalisation of local refineries and support for modular refining initiatives.