Breaking: Atiku Tells Tinubu to Cut Petrol Price, Offers Policy Framework to Reduce Costs
- Atiku Abubakar addressed Nigerians on fuel prices, palliatives, and the cost of living, directly challenging President Tinubu's economic approach
- Atiku urged Tinubu to act on petrol price relief in his remaining eight months, even offering to share his own policy framework with the administration
- The opposition leader also warned against repeating the petrol subsidy removal experience with the planned electricity subsidy phase-out from 2027
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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to use the eight months remaining in office to bring down petrol prices and ease the economic burden on Nigerian families, warning that distributing bags of rice cannot substitute for sound energy policy.
Atiku, in a public address titled "Address on Fuel Prices, Palliatives and the Cost of Living," said the consequences of the May 29, 2023 petrol subsidy removal without adequate transition support for workers, farmers and businesses had travelled "from the petrol station to the bus stop, from the bus stop to the market, and from the market to the family dining table."
Source: Getty Images
Atiku Hits Back at Tinubu Over "Ignorance" Remark
The former presidential candidate recalled that Tinubu had previously dismissed his calls for a government review of the subsidy withdrawal as showing "serious ignorance" of governance.
Atiku fired back, asking whether the Nigeria Labour Congress, petroleum marketers and Nigerian manufacturers were equally ignorant for raising the same alarms.
"If everybody who questions your policy is ignorant, while only the President is presumed to be wise, then we have a leadership problem on our hands," he said.
Atiku told the president he should not hesitate to act on a proposal simply because it came from a political opponent.
"Rename it if he wishes. And even take the credit. What matters to me is that Nigerians pay less," he said.
He also cautioned against the planned phase-out of electricity subsidies from 2027, arguing that barbers, tailors, welders, frozen food sellers and manufacturers all depend on affordable electricity to survive.
"The lesson of petrol must not be repeated with electricity. Do not remove first and think later," he warned.
**Atiku Outlines His Own Proposal If Elected**
Beyond his immediate call to Tinubu, Atiku outlined what he would do if elected president from May 29, 2027. He said he would introduce a production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria, with no support extended to imported products.
"Only products confirmed to be refined in Nigeria will qualify," he said, adding that the programme would carry a fixed spending limit, National Assembly approval and independent audits.
He framed the proposal using a rice-milling analogy: government support lowers production costs, which brings down prices for consumers, generates more business for farmers and creates jobs along the supply chain.
Atiku closed by drawing a sharp distinction between headline economic figures and lived reality. "A government collecting more money while its citizens can afford less cannot declare victory on the strength of bigger numbers alone," he said, adding that Nigerians "do not live on statistics — they live on what their hard-earned money can buy."
Source: Legit.ng
