Accord Party presidential candidate Gbenga Hashim has declared that an administration under his party would prioritize Nigerian refineries by ensuring they access domestic crude at a strategic price, enabling them to compete globally and transform the nation into a major energy hub. The pledge was made during the Diaspora Dialogue in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Saturday, where Hashim addressed fuel subsidy policies and the 2027 political landscape alongside scholars Prof. Farooq Kperogi, Prof. Moses Ochonu, and Osmund Agbo.
Hashim’s remarks came amid rising petrol prices and global energy market pressures, emphasizing a shift from Nigeria’s historical reliance on crude exports to leveraging its resources for industrial growth. 'Nigeria has spent decades giving the world our crude and buying back the value created from it,' he stated. 'Our Energy First policy will reverse that equation, using crude as the foundation of national industrial power.'
The candidate argued that Nigeria’s economic misstep has been treating crude as an export commodity rather than a strategic asset for domestic industries. 'Our crude is our strategic advantage,' Hashim said. 'We will put that advantage behind Nigerian industry, with refining and petrochemicals as core to our immediate industrialization strategy.'
Under Hashim’s plan, Dangote Refinery and other Nigerian refineries would purchase crude at a domestic price, not international market rates, to gain a competitive edge. 'If the crude is Nigerian and the refinery is Nigerian, the Nigerian economy must capture the advantage,' he explained. 'This is not a Dangote subsidy but a Nigerian industrial strategy that benefits all refineries meeting efficiency and transparency standards.'
Hashim stressed that the policy would not favor any single entity. 'We are not creating one protected champion but an army of Nigerian energy champions,' he said. The plan includes expanding Nigeria’s refining capacity by one million barrels per day within three years through government investment and joint ventures, aiming to establish the country as Africa’s leading refining and petrochemical hub.
The candidate emphasized that the goal is not mere self-sufficiency in refined products but global competitiveness. 'We want Nigerian refineries supplying Africa and petrochemical companies competing globally,' he said. 'Dangote has already begun competing with the world’s biggest energy companies by supplying aviation fuel to Europe, and we aim to scale this ambition.'
To support this vision, Hashim proposed recovering 3,000 shut-in oil wells to boost crude production to 4 million barrels per day within 24 months. 'It makes no economic sense for a country with thousands of idle wells to act as though crude is scarce,' he argued. 'We will restore production infrastructure, improve evacuation and security, and bring Nigeria’s lost barrels back into the economy.'
However, Hashim warned that increased production must not lead to more exports. 'The real question is what Nigeria will do with four million barrels,' he said. 'Under Energy First, we will use those barrels to power Nigerian industry, not just export them.'
The candidate also reiterated his proposed N605 per litre petrol price as a starting point for reducing energy costs. 'N605 is not our destination but a transition from subsidizing consumption to building productive capacity,' he explained. 'We aim to bring prices down to N200–N300 per litre as production, refining, and efficiency improve.'
Hashim criticized the traditional view of petroleum as merely petrol, advocating for a broader industrial approach. 'Crude can become petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, plastics, fertilizers, and thousands of industrial products,' he said. 'That is where real economic transformation lies.'
The Energy First policy, he argued, would create an integrated energy ecosystem, including pipelines, ports, storage, and predictable regulations, to support local entrepreneurs. 'Government will build the ecosystem; Nigerian companies will conquer the markets,' Hashim stated. 'Our job is to make energy companies less dependent on Nigeria’s limitations.'
Hashim highlighted the Dangote Refinery’s success as proof of Nigerian capital’s global potential. 'Dangote has shown the world what Nigerian capital can build,' he said. 'Now Nigeria needs a government with the ambition to match that investment.'
The candidate’s vision aims to shift Nigeria’s role in the global energy economy. 'For decades, the world bought Nigerian crude and created wealth elsewhere,' he said. 'Energy First will ensure crude creates Nigerian industries, jobs, and global champions.'
Hashim’s plan includes reducing energy costs through increased production, refining, and value capture rather than subsidies. 'The cheaper energy we promise will come from producing more, refining more, and capturing more value within Nigeria,' he said. 'This is not accounting magic but economic transformation.'
The Accord Party’s strategy also seeks to integrate Nigerian crude and gas into a broader industrial ecosystem. 'We must stop thinking of petroleum as petrol,' Hashim added. 'The real economic transformation lies in diversifying crude into industrial products.'
Hashim concluded by framing the Energy First policy as a blueprint for Nigeria’s global energy leadership. 'Local crude. Local refining. Global products. Global markets. Nigerian companies. Global energy power,' he said. 'This is the future we are building.'
The candidate’s proposals align with broader calls for economic restructuring, including recent discussions on Nigeria’s real estate market and technological advancements in banking, as highlighted by related news reports.