Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government’s planned 30-day fuel discount at NNPC stations, describing the initiative as a temporary measure driven by political considerations rather than a sustainable solution to the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Thursday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said the proposed discount could not address the hardship Nigerians had faced as a result of high fuel prices.
The former Vice-President accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of introducing the temporary relief as the 2027 elections draw closer, after allowing Nigerians to endure what he described as severe economic hardship.
He said the proposed intervention amounted to an attempt to use a temporary fuel subsidy-style measure to win public approval.
“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.
Atiku argued that the initiative was not an economic plan but a temporary response to the consequences of policies implemented by the administration.
“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.
He also questioned the scope of the proposed discount, noting that it would be limited to NNPC stations.
According to him, the government had yet to disclose how much motorists would save per litre or provide guarantees that any reduction in fuel costs for transport operators would translate into lower fares for passengers.
Atiku said the government’s decision to introduce the temporary intervention amounted to an admission that Nigerians had been subjected to significant hardship.
He further argued that the development demonstrated that his earlier proposal for production support was feasible.
“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.
The former Vice-President reiterated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, with safeguards to ensure that the benefits reach consumers while encouraging local refining.
He maintained that Nigerians needed a sustainable solution to the cost-of-living crisis rather than temporary measures.
“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 reducing the burden of living costs if elected, declaring, “Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again.”
