Fuel prices hit ₦1,500 as subsidy returns as 2027 election issue amid Tinubu absence row

Fuel now sells for about ₦1,400 per litre in Lagos and Abuja and as much as ₦1,500 in parts of northern Nigeria, with diesel over ₦2,000, despite the Dangote refinery operating at full capacity. This price surge has revived fuel subsidy as a defining issue for the 2027 presidential election, with opposition candidates promising to reintroduce some form of subsidy. President Bola Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 for a three-week vacation, triggering a constitutional controversy over whether he properly transmitted the Section 145 letter to National Assembly leaders empowering Vice-President Kashim Shettima to act as Acting President. Atiku Abubakar proposes a 'production subsidy' where domestic crude is supplied to refineries at incentivised prices, while Rabiu Kwankwaso said a Peter Obi-led government would bring back subsidy 'in a different form.' Tinubu maintains there will be no return to the old subsidy system, arguing it was fiscally unsustainable and corrupt. The administration faces dual pressure: show citizens concrete benefits from subsidy removal savings, and prove constitutional power transfer occurred as required. Watch for formal Presidency or National Assembly clarification on the Section 145 letter and continued pump price movements as electoral indicators.

SOURCE: https://www.channelstv.com/2026/09/22/fuel-at-%e2%82%a61400-subsidy-returns-to-the-ballot/