Presidential Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has warned that the price of Premium Motor Spirit PMS, commonly known as petrol, could soar to ₦5,000 per liter if President Bola Tinubu secures a second term in office.

Adebayo, in a Press Release by his Presidential Campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Comrade Mark Adebayo, stated that the current administration’s economic policies, specifically the full deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector and the continuous floating of the Naira, have set Nigeria’s economy on a hyper-inflationary path.

Without a radical policy shift, he argued, a second term under the current framework will inevitably push fuel prices to heights previously thought impossible.

Adebayo outlined the economic drivers and projections by predicating his warning on the currency devaluation loop.

“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.”

“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,” he said.

On the removal of 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.”

Adebayo emphasized that the current hardship is not an accident but the predictable outcome of choosing “foreign IMF-style models” over citizen-centered economics.

“We cannot run an economy purely on taxes, subsidy removal, and currency devaluation without producing anything internally,” Adebayo stated.

“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.”

The SDP Presidential Candidate 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.”