Otega Ogra, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Digital and New Media, has claimed that the proposed petrol subsidy policy of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), could cost Nigeria N19.1 trillion annually.

Otega Ogra made the claim on Tuesday while appearing on a TVC News programme.

The controversy followed comments by Paul Ibe, Atiku’s spokesperson, on August 25 that an Atiku administration would reintroduce petrol subsidy for a period before eventually phasing it out.

Atiku later clarified that the proposed subsidy would not have a predetermined withdrawal date.

The former vice-president subsequently maintained that his position had not changed and that he would restore petrol subsidy if elected president.

Reacting to the proposal, Ogra questioned how an Atiku administration would fund the subsidy, alleging that it could benefit wealthy individuals in the oil sector.

“So for Alhaji Atiku, my question to you here is, where are the barrels for your subsidy going to come from? Where is the money that you’re going to give to your billionaire friends using your own plan?” Ogra said.

He said estimates indicated that Atiku’s proposed subsidy plan could cost the country N19.1 trillion a year.

“I’ve not even mentioned before, your plan for subsidies, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, it will cost Nigeria N19.1 trillion, according to estimates,” he said.

Ogra criticised Atiku’s proposal for not specifying the estimated cost, spending limit or volume of crude oil required to sustain the subsidy.

“You failed to put the estimates in your plan, you failed to put the cap in your plan, you failed to put how many barrels of oil Nigeria is going to need in your plan,” he said.

According to the presidential aide, assuming a crude oil price of $80 per barrel and a subsidy requirement of about $40 per barrel, the cost would amount to N19.1 trillion annually.

He further estimated the cost at N52.3 billion daily and N1.5 trillion monthly.

Ogra also claimed the policy would translate to about N605,000 for every Nigerian.

The figures and assumptions cited by Ogra were not independently verified in the comments.