Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President, has responded to President Bola Tinubu’s criticism of his plan to intervene in the petroleum sector, accusing the President of economic ignorance.
Tinubu had earlier labeled Atiku’s promise to reinstate fuel subsidies if elected in 2027 as a sign of “serious ignorance regarding governance and the economy.”
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In Atiku’s response, delivered by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, he characterized Tinubu’s remarks as the “arrogant lecture of a failed economic experimenter” who confuses Nigerians’ resilience in the face of hardship as an indication that his policies are effective.
Shaibu stated, “If there were a presidential emblem for economic ignorance, it would belong to Tinubu and his family.”
He criticized Tinubu’s administration for causing disruptions in fuel prices, exchange rates, and living costs that have worsened conditions for Nigerians, asserting, “That’s not reform; it’s economic destruction followed by misleading narratives.”
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Atiku highlighted that increased allocations from the Federation Account cannot alleviate growing hardships. “Businesses can’t run factories on presidential rhetoric, workers can’t afford transport with economic jargon, and parents can’t pay school fees with statistics tailored for applause at the State House,” he pointed out.
He argued for the need for new policy approaches to adapt to changing economic challenges and clarified that Atiku is not advocating for a return to the “corrupt, open-ended subsidy system,” but rather for a “targeted, capped, budgeted, time-limited, and independently audited production-support mechanism.”
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Atiku also challenged the assertion that subsidies have been entirely abolished, referencing reported energy security costs and petroleum under-recoveries in the accounts of the NNPC. “So what exactly did Tinubu eliminate?” he questioned. “If the subsidy is gone, why do under-recoveries still exist?”
He further noted that the removal of subsidies has shifted financial burdens from households to government budgets. “You cannot build a federation by impoverishing citizens so that Abuja can send larger payments to governors. That amounts to stealing from households to enrich others.”
