Atiku Fires Back at Tinubu Over Fuel Subsidy Defence

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has launched a sharp criticism of President Bola Tinubu's justification for maintaining the fuel subsidy removal policy. Speaking through his campaign spokesperson Phrank Shaibu, Atiku rejected Tinubu's earlier comparison of subsidy restoration calls to asking the biblical figure Moses to return to Egypt, characterizing the remark as tone-deaf to the economic struggles facing millions of Nigerians.

Atiku's statement contended that Tinubu has governed in a manner reminiscent of authoritarian rule, drawing parallels to Pharaonic oppression. The ADC presidential candidate argued that the sitting president took pride in the fuel price increases implemented during his first day in office, despite widespread public suffering.

Atiku suggested that families across Nigeria have been forced to reduce meal frequency and that transport costs have escalated beyond affordable levels for ordinary workers. The former vice-president offered an alternative vision, proposing targeted financial support programmes for locally refined petroleum products as a means of addressing both fuel costs and the broader cost-of-living crisis.

Atiku also flagged security challenges as an area where the administration has fallen short, indicating that the removal of subsidies has not translated into improved governance on other fronts that affect citizens' daily lives. Tinubu had previously defended the subsidy removal as necessary to stabilise the nation's finances, ruling out any reversal of the policy.

The disagreement underscores a persistent divide between the administration and opposition voices over the social impact of the 2023 economic reform decision.