ADC presidential candidate says government’s 30-day petrol discount falls short of his production subsidy plan…..
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of adopting his proposal to ease petrol prices but implementing only a limited version through a 30-day discount scheme.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, made the allegation on Friday in Abuja during the inauguration of the party’s presidential campaign council, where he criticised the government’s latest intervention in the fuel market.
“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.
He compared Tinubu’s decision to a student copying another person’s examination answer without understanding the underlying principles, arguing that the government had adopted his proposal while discarding the component he considered essential.
“You copied my production subsidy proposal. Nothing wrong about that. You stripped away the part that makes it work and handed Nigerians a 30-day discount. Where is the rest of the answer? Bola, please, you see why it is good to go to school,” he added.
Atiku said the president had previously questioned his understanding of economic policy when he advocated targeted support to reduce the cost of fuel.
According to the former vice-president, the administration had dismissed the proposal as impractical before introducing a measure he described as an incomplete adoption of the same principle.
“Now in a desperate and clumsy retreat, you have shamelessly embraced the principle you mocked,” Atiku said.
“You owe me an apology.”
His remarks followed the Federal Government’s announcement on Thursday of a 30-day petrol discount at filling stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, unveiled the measure during a press conference in Abuja, explaining that the initiative would initially run for 30 days, with public transport operators given priority.
“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 clarified that the arrangement was not a fuel subsidy but a cost-based pricing initiative through which the government would sell petrol at cost.
He said the intervention was intended to provide some relief to Nigerians amid pressure from rising fuel prices and the wider cost of living.
Oyedele also disclosed that the government was considering forward sales of crude oil to domestic refiners as part of efforts to cushion the economic impact on households.
He said the government was negotiating a ceiling price of ₦1,350 per litre at the ex-gantry level, or based on the landing cost of petrol, to reduce the impact of fluctuations in global crude oil prices and exchange rates on pump prices.
According to the minister, the proposed price arrangement would be reviewed monthly.
