President Bola Tinubu and his leading opponent in next year’s elections, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have again clashed over the vexed issue of the removal of fuel subsidy by the Tinubu administration and its aftermath.
In spite of widespread criticism of the policy, the president has insisted that there is no going back on it, arguing that it is part of his economic reforms to strengthen the nation’s economy.
Drawing a parallel from the Biblical story of Moses leading the Israelites from slavery in Egypt into Canaan, President Tinubu stated:
“I listen to my political opponents promising the return of subsidy. I remember my scripture studies in either the Bible or the Holy Quran. When Moses left Egypt, they faced the challenge, the Red Sea parted and gave way. You cannot ask Moses to go back to Egypt.”
He spoke while playing host to members of one of his support groups, the City Boys Movement at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.
However, in a swift reaction to Tinubu’s position, Atiku has again rejected the subsidy removal policy, re-vowing to reinstate it if elected president.
Atiku said Tinubu’s comparison of subsidy relief to asking Moses to return to Egypt indicated that he was out of touch with Nigerians struggling with the excruciating consequences of the subsidy removal.
Atiku who spoke on Tuesday through the Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council,
Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said,
“Bola, you are the Egypt Nigerians are desperate to escape. You celebrate the day you made fuel more expensive, then lecture families struggling to pay for food and transport about why they must never go back.”
Atiku put forward what he said he will do differently if he wins the 2027 polls:
“My proposal is clear: give limited, budgeted support only to verified petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians. Imported fuel gets nothing. Independent auditors must track every naira, and the benefit must reach consumers in the price they pay.”
Atiku argued that Nigerians deserved affordable fuel pledging to reverse the hardship he attributed to the Tinubu administration.
“Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again,” he said
President announced the removal the petrol subsidy right on his inauguration venue on 29th May 2023. This almost immediately forced up the price of petrol by about 200%, leading to higher transport fares and rising cost of living.
His government has consistently defended the removal, arguing that subsidy payments placed an unsustainable burden on government funds, diverting resources that could have been invested in infrastructure and other critical sectors.
Tinubu’s latest remarks indicates his doubling down with the policy in brazen disregard for the concerns of the Nigerian masses about his purported economic reforms.
The president’s comparison of the policy to Moses and Egypt suggests that, in his view, returning to fuel subsidy would amount to abandoning a tough but necessary policy meant for the good of the Nigerian people.
