The Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, has criticised the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, over his comments on Nigeria’s rising fuel prices.
Olusegun, in a post on 𝕏 on Saturday, said Obi’s remarks on the issue were misleading and urged the former Anambra State governor to refrain from commenting on matters he does not fully understand.
The presidential aide was reacting to a statement issued by Obi on Thursday, in which the former governor attributed the country’s vulnerability to global oil price shocks to the absence of a strategic petroleum reserve and inadequate planning.
Obi had observed that petrol, which sold for less than ₦1,000 per litre weeks ago, had risen to over ₦1,200 per litre, while diesel increased from below ₦1,000 to above ₦1,500 per litre.
He linked the price hikes to tensions involving Iran and their effects on global oil prices.
Obi said, “The reason for this is straightforward: most countries, whether they are oil-producing or non-oil-producing, maintain strategic petroleum reserves to cushion against supply or price shocks.
“This means that when there is a disruption in the global oil market, they can release part of these reserves to stabilise supply. However, Nigeria lacks such a buffer, so the impact is felt almost immediately.”
He added that the development reflected poor planning.
“The underlying issue is a lack of planning. Countries that engage in planning create buffers against shocks, while those that do not remain vulnerable to them. The old maxim remains true: when a country fails to plan, it has already planned to fail,” Obi said.
Responding, Olusegun dismissed Obi’s position, arguing that the immediate cause of rising pump prices was the deregulation of the fuel market following the removal of subsidy by the Tinubu administration.
“The recent rise in fuel prices in Nigeria is not primarily because the country lacks a strategic petroleum reserve. The more immediate factor is that the fuel market is now largely deregulated following the subsidy removal by the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
He explained that under a deregulated system, petrol prices respond directly to global market forces.
“In a deregulated system, petrol prices respond directly to global oil prices, exchange rates, shipping costs and supply risks.
“So when geopolitical tensions involving Iran push global oil prices upward, countries that rely heavily on imported refined products like Nigeria will inevitably feel the effect at the pump. That is simply how an open market behaves,” he said.
Olusegun also disputed Obi’s characterisation of strategic petroleum reserves, stating that such reserves are typically used only during major supply disruptions.
“It is also not accurate to suggest that strategic petroleum reserves are tools used to control everyday pump prices.
“Even countries with very large reserves, such as the United States and China, maintain them primarily for serious supply emergencies, wars, embargoes, or major disruptions to global supply chains.
“They are not routinely deployed simply because prices move in the global market,” he said.
The presidential aide acknowledged that Nigeria faces long-standing structural challenges in its energy sector.
According to him, the country’s heavy reliance on imported refined petroleum products, combined with foreign exchange pressures, has made it vulnerable to global market fluctuations.
He further stated, “Nigeria’s real challenge has always been deeper and more structural. For decades, the country has struggled with limited refining capacity and a heavy dependence on imported refined products, despite being one of the world’s major crude oil producers.
“That structural imbalance, combined with exchange rate pressures, has consistently made the country vulnerable to global price movements.”
Olusegun further criticised Obi for what he described as oversimplifying a complex economic issue.
He said, “When someone who once held the office of governor begins to make such sweeping conclusions about a complex global energy market, it is frankly embarrassing.
“A former governor should know better than to reduce a multi-layered economic issue to a simplistic talking point.”
He also reminded Obi that during the 2023 presidential campaign he had publicly supported the removal of fuel subsidy.
“It is worth reminding you that during your presidential campaign, you clearly stated that you would remove fuel subsidy if elected.
“So the same policy framework that now allows prices to reflect market realities is one you publicly supported,” he said.
Olusegun urged the former governor to exercise restraint when commenting on national economic issues.
“Sometimes the wiser thing to do is simply sit a conversation out when one does not fully understand how the system works rather than jumping at every opportunity to malign Nigeria,” he said.