On Monday, during an interview on Channels Television’s *Politics Today*, [African Democratic Congress (ADC)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Democratic_Congress) spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi said the party would subsidise [crude oil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crude_oil) production to lower fuel prices if it assumes power in the 2027 elections, arguing that Nigerians are too poor to be left to market forces.
What is the ADC’s proposed solution?
Abdullahi, speaking on behalf of ADC presidential candidate and former Vice‑President [Atiku Abubakar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atiku_Abubakar), reiterated that the government must step in to shield citizens from the burden of soaring fuel costs rather than allowing pricing to be dictated solely by the market.
How would the subsidy be financed?
“The most important point is that the ADC and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar are saying that Nigerians are too poor to be left to market forces. We cannot have people so poor and leave them without subsidy. So, we (ADC) are going to subsidise production,” he asserted.
What role does Nigeria’s oil status play?
He noted that Nigeria’s status as an oil‑producing nation provides a logical basis for state intervention, saying, “You can ask us, where would the crude oil come from? We are an oil‑producing country. Whatever we need to do to subsidise the production of crude and deliver cheaper fuel to Nigerians, we are going to do it.”
Why use a wartime analogy?
Using a wartime comparison, Abdullahi warned that, “When your country is at war, you do not begin to talk about the price of guns and the price of bullets; you defend your country by all means necessary.” He added that ADC and Atiku would “defend the people by all means necessary.”
When will policies be reassessed?
He further cautioned that any government policy that fails to improve the welfare, security or well‑being of the populace must be re‑examined, stating, “Anything that you do as a government, any policy option that you choose as a government that does not improve the well‑being and the security, and the welfare of the people, has to be reconsidered.”