Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2027 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of deepening cost of living in Nigeria.
Atiku in a statement his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaib, said Tinubu’s refusal of fuel subsidy without safety net, wrecked Nigerians’ purchasing power, emptied household pockets and pushed businesses to the brink.
Former vice president stated that President Tinubu’s economic policies have made virtually everything more expensive while leaving ordinary citizens with less money to survive.
According to him, Tinubu did not inherit cost-of-living crisis from Nigerians, his policies created and deepened it.
“He took away relief from the people, made fuel, food, transport and basic survival more expensive, and now wants Nigerians to applaud statistics while their pockets are empty,” he added.
Atiku said the position canvassed by the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), and President Donald Trump, for domestic refining of fuel, further exposed the weakness of Tinubu’s argument against targeted support for Nigerian production.
“Recent reports that a significant share of the short-term assets of some of Nigeria’s biggest companies is now trapped in unpaid customer bills tell the same story,” he said, adding, “companies may record sales, but customers increasingly cannot pay because Tinubu’s economy has drained their purchasing power.”
Atiku noted that prices of things have increased since Tinubu removed fuel, stating that the cost of fertiliser moved from about ₦9,000 to around ₦50,000; petrol from about ₦199 to around ₦1,400 per litre; cement from roughly ₦4,000 to around ₦13,500; and the dollar from around ₦450 to about ₦1,400.
The former vice president said his production subsidy is about putting money back into people’s pockets.
“CORAN is saying support domestic production. America understands the importance of supporting strategic energy production.
“Yet Tinubu attacks relief for ordinary Nigerians while his government understands perfectly well how to grant waivers, incentives and concessions to multinational oil companies and businesses close to his administration,” he added.
