Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of copying his petrol subsidy proposal after previously ridiculing it, and demanding an apology over the Federal Government’s newly announced 30-day fuel discount.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, made the remarks on Friday in Abuja during the inauguration of the party’s presidential campaign council.
He accused Tinubu of embracing an economic policy he had earlier dismissed while stripping away what he described as the key elements needed to make it effective.
“Bola, you have borrowed the idea but missed the lesson. You had a production subsidy and reduced it to a 30-day gesture,” Atiku said.
Taking a swipe at the President, the former vice-president compared Tinubu’s alleged adoption of his proposal to a student copying another student’s examination answer and then claiming credit for original thinking.
Atiku said Tinubu had previously questioned his understanding of economic policy when he advocated targeted support to reduce petrol costs, adding that the administration had dismissed the proposal as unworkable.
He accused the President of reversing course by adopting the principle behind the proposal, but argued that the newly announced measure fell short of his original recommendation.
“Now in a desperate and clumsy retreat, you have shamelessly embraced the principle you mocked,” Atiku said.
He added, “You owe me an apology.”
The confrontation came a day after the Federal Government announced a 30-day petrol discount at filling stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), in a move aimed at easing fuel costs.
Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, unveiled the initiative at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, announcing that public transport operators would receive priority under the arrangement.
“We are offering a discount on petrol dispensed by NNPC Limited for the next 30 days in the first instance, with priority for public transporters nationwide,” Oyedele said.
The minister rejected the description of the initiative as a subsidy, insisting that the government would instead sell petrol at cost under the arrangement.
Oyedele also disclosed that the government was considering forward sales of crude oil to domestic refiners to cushion households against mounting economic pressures.
He said the Federal Government was negotiating a price ceiling of N1,350 per litre at the ex-gantry or landing-cost level to limit the impact of fluctuations in international crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates on petrol prices.
According to the minister, the proposed price arrangement would be reviewed monthly.
Atiku’s criticism has brought the competing positions of the former vice-president and the Tinubu administration on fuel-price intervention into sharper focus, with the ADC candidate insisting that the government’s 30-day measure falls short of the broader policy he had advocated.
