Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his defence of petrol subsidy removal, insisting that Nigerians need affordable food, fuel and transportation rather than biblical lectures to justify their economic hardship.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, accused Tinubu of celebrating a policy that has driven up the cost of living, leaving millions of households struggling to feed their families and meet basic needs.
The former Vice-President challenged the President to focus on practical measures to ease Nigerians’ suffering instead of defending the consequences of his economic reforms with religious references.
His criticism followed Tinubu’s declaration on Monday that he had no regrets about removing petrol subsidy, warning that reversing the policy would amount to taking Nigeria back to Egypt, a reference to the biblical account of the Israelites’ escape from captivity.
In a statement issued by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the President should explain how his administration intended to make life more affordable for ordinary Nigerians.
“You celebrate the day you made fuel more expensive, then lecture families struggling to pay for food and transport about why they must never go back.
“A mother trying to feed her children cannot pay for food with a metaphor. A worker cannot get to work on a story about the Red Sea. Nigerians are asking how you intend to make life affordable. Answer them,” Atiku said.
Tinubu had defended the subsidy removal at An Evening with the Original City Boy, an event organised by the City Boy Movement on Monday, insisting that reversing the policy would undermine the economic reforms introduced by his administration.
The President announced the removal of the petrol subsidy in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023. The decision was followed by sharp increases in petrol prices, transportation fares and the cost of goods and services, making the policy a major issue in the political debate ahead of the 2027 elections.
Atiku, however, has argued that his proposed intervention in the petroleum sector would provide relief without returning the country to the previous subsidy system.
The ADC candidate recently proposed targeted support for petroleum products refined locally and sold to Nigerian consumers. The Presidency had dismissed the proposal, questioning his understanding of governance and economic management.
Explaining his plan, Atiku said the proposed intervention would be limited, budgeted and restricted to verified petroleum products refined in Nigeria, with safeguards to prevent the abuses associated with the former subsidy regime.
“Imported fuel gets nothing. Independent auditors must track every naira, and the benefit must reach consumers in the price they pay. If it does not lower that price, it has failed its purpose,” he said.
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