The Former Vice President and presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned Federal Government’s proposed 30-day fuel discount, describing it as desperate and temporary gesture that cannot address hardship caused by high fuel prices.
In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku accused President Bola Tinubu administration of attempting to use temporary fuel discount as political response to worsening cost-of-living crisis.
The Former Vice President’s reaction followed Federal Government’s announcement on Thursday that it would offer discount on petrol dispensed by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, for initial 30 days.
The Measure is part of fresh package of interventions announced by government to cushion impact of high fuel prices on Nigerians and stabilise pump prices.
Announcing the measure at a press briefing in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the discount was not subsidy but arrangement by government to sell petrol at cost.
But Atiku said government had watched Nigerians endure severe hardship without providing meaningful relief, accusing the administration of offering temporary relief as 2027 elections approach.
“Atiku totally rejects this calendar-scheduled, election-laced subsidy package. Nigerians are not fools to be offered a month of discounted fuel after years of punishing prices and then expected to forget the hardship when the discount expires. This is shameless and heartless,” he said.
He described 30-day discount as “not an economic plan but a political bandage on a wound the government had helped create.”
“What happens on Day 31? Nigerians wake up to the same brutal prices, the same punishing transport fares and the same rising cost of food. The government cannot manufacture relief for one month and expect Nigerians to applaud while the hardship remains,” he said.
Atiku also questioned scope of intervention, noting that it is limited to NNPC stations. He said government had yet to state how much motorists would save per litre or guarantee that savings for transport operators would be passed on to passengers through lower fares.
ADC presidential candidate further described government’s move as reversal of its previous position on relief measures, saying it amounted to admission of severity of hardship Nigerians had endured.
“This volte-face proves that the production-support proposal I have advanced is workable, achievable and not complicated. The Tinubu government and its spin doctors have tried to make it sound impossible, yet they are now reaching for a temporary subsidy-style intervention because the pain has become impossible to ignore,” Atiku said.
He reiterated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, with safeguards to ensure that benefit reaches consumers while supporting local refining.
“Nigerians need lasting relief, not a countdown to the return of hardship. Tinubu’s government cannot spend years telling Nigerians to endure, then offer 30 days of relief and call it a solution,” he said.
Atiku restated his commitment to making life more affordable for Nigerians.
