According to a video posted on Trust TV on Thursday September 24, 2026, a member of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) media team, Dickson Ikeoegbu, said local refineries in Saudi Arabia receive crude oil at about $25 per barrel while Nigeria continues to sell at international benchmark prices.
Speaking on Daily Politics with host Abdullah Ahmed, Dickson made the comparison while defending the position of the NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, that the real problem with fuel prices in Nigeria is corruption and mismanagement rather than subsidy itself.
He argued that government should negotiate directly with local refiners, including the Dangote refinery, to secure crude at a lower price for domestic use.
Dickson said Nigeria produces enough crude oil to supply its own refineries but continues to sell at global market rates instead of offering domestic discounts the way other oil-producing nations do.
He said this failure, not subsidy removal itself, was responsible for the high pump prices Nigerians were facing.
In his words, Dickson Ikeoegbu said, “The sales of crude, the price of crude, is not sold to the local refineries by the international benchmark.
“For instance, in Saudi Arabia, they sell to local refineries within $25 thereabouts. Meanwhile, at the international market it is $100. So how can’t we as a country do the same?” he said.
Dickson linked the crude pricing issue to the wider argument that government must tackle corruption in the oil sector before considering full subsidy removal.
He said the money saved from earlier subsidy cuts was not properly invested in health, transportation, or agriculture, and pointed to an unapproved coastal highway project as an example of misused resources.
He said any future NDC government would prioritize accountability over quick declarations.
He said this approach, in his view, reflects a more responsible way to manage the country’s oil wealth than the sudden subsidy removal declared by the current administration in 2023.
SOURCE: Blue_Network
