By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has again insisted that his proposed petroleum intervention is not a return to Nigeria’s discredited import-subsidy regime, but targeted support for domestic production designed to reduce the cost of living rather than feed President Bola Tinubu and his allies.
This was as he disowned comments credited to one of his close aides over the framing of his proposed fuel subsidy policy, declaring that no spokesperson has the right to redefine a position he has already made clear.
Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to the former vice president, Phrank Shaibu, said in a statement on Tuesday that the aide’s remarks suggesting an Atiku government would “restore fuel subsidy and remove it later” amounted to “an unauthorised, imprecise and materially misleading characterisation of Atiku’s policy position.”
He said; “For the avoidance of doubt, policy belongs to the candidate, not the spokesperson. Our responsibility as communicators is to explain Atiku’s position accurately, not create formulations capable of confusing Nigerians or handing opponents convenient talking points.”
Shaibu distanced Atiku from the characterisation entirely, stating, “Atiku has never proposed restoring the import-subsidy regime and subsequently removing it on some predetermined date. That is not his policy and should not be attributed to him.”
At the centre of the clarification is a distinction Atiku’s camp is keen to draw between his proposal and the import-subsidy system Nigeria abandoned in 2023.
Shaibu explained that “what Atiku proposes is a targeted, capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited subsidy that supports domestic refining and production, with measurable exit conditions built in from day one.”
He said there is no arbitrary withdrawal date attached to the plan, noting, “As domestic refining expands, supply stabilises, competition deepens, and the market becomes capable of delivering affordable prices without government support. The intervention progressively becomes unnecessary.
“You do not remove scaffolding because the calendar says so. You remove it when the building can stand securely on its own”, he added.
He accused the Tinubu administration of shifting the burden of its reforms onto Nigerian households, stating, “Tinubu transferred the shock of his reforms to Nigerian families. Atiku will reduce production and transportation costs, strengthen domestic refining, and restore purchasing power.
“The choice is not removal of subsidy versus restoration of subsidy. It is Expensive Nigeria versus Affordable Nigeria”, he declared.
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