Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform narrative, arguing that rising government revenues cannot be regarded as evidence of economic success while millions of Nigerians continue to grapple with high living costs.
Atiku, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said on Friday that his proposed intervention in the petroleum sector should not be mistaken for a return to the former open-ended petrol subsidy regime.
He described the proposal as a temporary and targeted production-support programme designed to boost domestic refining, reduce exposure to international price shocks and ultimately ease pressure on consumers.
According to Atiku, the economic realities confronting Nigerians have changed considerably since the Tinubu administration removed the petrol subsidy in May 2023.
He argued that the policy, without adequate measures to cushion its impact, contributed to increased fuel, transportation and food prices, while the naira also suffered significant depreciation.
Atiku maintained that his proposal would be capped, budgeted, time-bound and independently audited, with safeguards against arbitrage and a direct link to domestic petroleum production.
The former vice president also questioned the Federal Government’s reliance on increased Federation Account allocations as evidence that its reforms are working.
He argued that higher revenues to governments mean little if ordinary Nigerians are experiencing declining purchasing power and worsening living conditions.
Atiku further demanded clarification over what he described as about ₦17.5 trillion in petroleum-related under-recoveries and energy-security costs reportedly reflected in the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
“If subsidy is dead, why are under-recoveries alive?” he asked, while also questioning whether greater transparency had been achieved in the petroleum sector.
He insisted that the true measure of economic reform should be its impact on citizens rather than the size of government revenues.
The development comes amid an ongoing debate between the Tinubu administration and opposition figures over the consequences of petrol subsidy removal and other economic reforms.
While the Federal Government has maintained that subsidy removal was necessary to end an unsustainable financial burden and redirect resources toward development, Atiku argues that the reforms have placed a disproportionate burden on Nigerians.
He therefore urged the government to review policies that, in his view, are worsening economic hardship, while defending his proposed petroleum intervention as a temporary measure aimed at strengthening domestic production and reducing the need for future subsidies.
