Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has hit back at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the President’s criticism of his proposal to reintroduce a form of fuel subsidy if elected in 2027.
Tinubu had described Atiku’s promise to restore fuel subsidy as evidence of “serious ignorance” about governance and the economy.
The President made the remark on Thursday while receiving Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke.
“I saw one of my opponents now say he will go back to subsidy. I read it. That is a demonstration of serious ignorance on governance and the economy,” Tinubu said.
Reacting in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku accused the President of being economically ignorant and criticised the impact of the administration’s economic policies.
Shaibu argued that the removal of fuel subsidy, combined with changes in the foreign exchange market, had increased economic hardship for Nigerians, particularly through higher transportation, food and production costs.
He said the administration should not use increased allocations to states as evidence of economic success when many households and businesses were struggling with rising costs.
According to Atiku’s camp, the former vice president is not advocating a return to the previous subsidy system, which he described as vulnerable to corruption and abuse.
Instead, it said Atiku’s proposal would involve a targeted, capped, budgeted and time-bound production-support mechanism, subject to independent auditing and linked to domestic production.
The statement argued that economic policies should be adjusted when prevailing economic conditions change, insisting that Atiku’s proposal was a response to the consequences of the reforms implemented by the Tinubu administration.
Atiku’s camp also questioned the government’s claim that fuel subsidy had been completely eliminated, citing what it described as energy-security costs and petroleum under-recoveries contained in NNPC’s audited accounts.
It alleged that the accounts included approximately ₦17.5 trillion in energy-security costs and petroleum under-recoveries, comprising about ₦7.13 trillion classified as Energy Security and ₦8.67 trillion in under-recoveries.
The former vice president’s camp consequently asked why such costs remained if fuel subsidy had been completely removed.
The statement further criticised Tinubu’s argument that one of the benefits of subsidy removal was the increase in allocations to state governments through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Atiku argued that higher government revenues should not come at the expense of household purchasing power.
“You do not build a federation by impoverishing citizens so that Abuja can send bigger cheques to governors,” Atiku said.
He maintained that the government should focus on policies capable of reducing the burden on ordinary Nigerians rather than celebrating increased allocations while citizens contend with higher transportation costs, food inflation and declining purchasing power.
The exchange between Tinubu and Atiku comes as political parties and presidential aspirants begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with economic management and the controversial removal of fuel subsidy expected to remain major campaign issues.
Atiku’s latest response signals that the subsidy debate is likely to become a major point of disagreement between the ADC presidential candidate and the Tinubu administration as the 2027 election approaches.
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