BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Presidential Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has warned Nigerians that the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly called petrol, can skyrocket to an unprecedented ₦5,000 per liter if President Bola Tinubu secures a second term in office come 2027.
In his grim prediction, Prince Adebayo said another four years under Tinubu’s current economic framework will inevitably drag fuel prices to heights once deemed impossible in the country.
A statement issued by the Chief Communications Adviser to the SDP flag-bearer, Comrade Mark Adebayo, stated that the current administration’s aggressive economic strategies, chiefly the total deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector and the ongoing floating of the Naira, have locked the nation into a dangerous, hyper-inflationary spiral with no remedy in sight.
The SDP flagbearer said without an immediate and radical policy U-turn by an incoming administration, Nigerians would not only be condemned to unbearable fuel prices but also crushing economic hardship.
Adebayo, who outlined the economic drivers and projections by predicating his warning on the currency devaluation loop, said: “Petrol in Nigeria is imported and priced in United States Dollars ($). As long as the Central Bank allows the Naira to float without strong local production backing it, the currency will continue to weaken.”
Additionally, he said: “If the exchange rate hits ₦3,500 to $1 in the coming years, the landing cost of fuel alone will exceed ₦4,000. You cannot have economy illiterates running your country and expect the people not to suffer. They don’t understand how to run a developing economy in a complex modern global dynamics. The realities are faster than their capabilities can operationalise.”
Weighing in on the decision to strip away all subsidies, Adebayo said, “The current policy completely removes the government’s ability to cushion international oil price shocks. If global crude prices spike due to geopolitical tensions, Nigerian consumers will bear 100% of the burden at the pump which automatically triggers a compounded inflation spiral.
“High fuel costs drive up transport inflation. Transport inflation drives up food inflation. This vicious cycle reduces the purchasing power of the Naira, forcing marketers to raise prices just to break even against operational costs.
“High interest rates from the Central Bank mean oil marketers are borrowing at exorbitant rates to fund imports. These financing fees, alongside decaying port and distribution infrastructure, add hundreds of Naira in hidden costs to every liter of fuel.”
However, the SDP Standard bearer said the current hardship is not an accident but the predictable outcome of choosing “foreign IMF-style models” over citizen-centered economics, noting that, “We cannot run an economy purely on taxes, subsidy removal, and currency devaluation without producing anything internally”.
Taking a swipe at what he described as the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) policy failure, Prince Adebayo said: “A ₦5,000 fuel price is not a myth; it is basic mathematics based on the direction the Tinubu administration is walking. If Nigerians do not demand a change in economic philosophy, the pump price will catch up to this reality sooner than expected.”
Looking forward to the 2027 presidential elections, the SDP candidate assuredly said: “When elected into office next year, my administration will immediately revive local refining capacity through transparent public-private models, and reintroduce targeted cushions to protect regular Nigerians from economic collapse.”
