Petrol Discount: Atiku Accuses Tinubu of Using NNPC Limited as 'Campaign Cashier'
- Atiku Abubakar questioned whether NNPC Limited's board approved the petrol discount before the Presidency publicly announced it
- The ADC presidential candidate challenged the reach of the discount, noting NNPC Retail operates just over 900 stations for 242 million Nigerians
- Atiku's campaign said Tinubu borrowed the idea of targeted fuel relief but delivered it through an app coupon valid for only 30 days
PAY ATTENTION: Mark Legit.ng as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!
Abuja, FCT - Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged the Tinubu administration over its recently announced petrol discount, questioning whether the decision bypassed NNPC Limited's board and amounts to using the company as a political funding tool ahead of the 2027 elections.
The criticism came in a statement released on Saturday, October 10, 2026, by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.
Source: Facebook
Atiku argued that the Petroleum Industry Act established NNPC Limited to function as a commercial company, and that ordering it to absorb a price cut without transparent board approval contradicts that mandate.
"NNPC Limited is no longer the old NNPC corporation. The Petroleum Industry Act established it to operate as a commercial company. Yet the Presidency announces a discount, claims the applause and tells NNPC to surrender its margin. Is the government exercising its rights as shareholder through proper corporate channels, or treating NNPC Limited as a drawer of campaign money it can open whenever an election approaches?" Atiku said in the statement.
Atiku Questions Reach and Cost of the Discount
Beyond the governance concern, Atiku raised doubts about whether the relief would reach ordinary Nigerians. He pointed out that NNPC Retail runs just over 900 filling stations across a country of roughly 242 million people, and that drivers in many areas would need to travel long distances, join queues, and use a dedicated app to access the saving of ₦66 per litre.
"What happens to the family whose nearest NNPC station is miles away? What happens when a station runs out of petrol? Tinubu announces relief for the whole country, then delivers it through a fraction of its filling stations. A press release can reach every Nigerian in a second. His discount cannot," Atiku said.
He also pressed the administration to clarify which account would absorb the cost of the discount and what financial figures the NNPC board reviewed before the policy was made public.
Atiku Calls the Discount a Borrowed Idea
Atiku went further, accusing President Tinubu of previously mocking his own proposal for a targeted production subsidy, only to roll out a similar concept in a far more limited form.
"Bola, you mocked my proposal for a transparent production subsidy. Now you have borrowed its central lesson, that Nigerians need targeted relief, and come back with an app coupon lasting 30 days at a handful of stations. You borrowed the recipe for feeding a nation and returned with a tasting spoon," Atiku said.
The administration has maintained that the arrangement does not constitute a subsidy, a characterisation Atiku dismissed, saying that renaming a cost does not make it disappear.
Legit.ng has previously reported on the federal government's fuel pricing decisions and the debate over the commercialisation of NNPC Limited under the Petroleum Industry Act.
NDC Knocks Tinubu Over Petrol Price Discount
In a related development, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has condemned the federal government's announcement of a 30-day petrol price discount at NNPC retail outlets, describing the move as deceptive and a sign of a government in crisis.
The party's statement, signed by National Publicity Secretary Osa Director Esq and dated October 8, 2026, came in direct response to comments by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, who described the initiative as a cost-price offer rather than a subsidy return.
Source: Legit.ng
