Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has rejected the Federal Government’s proposed 30-day petrol price discount, describing the measure as a temporary intervention that cannot address the hardship caused by high fuel prices.
Atiku, in an article by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, said the offer was coming after years of rising fuel prices and worsening cost-of-living pressures.
The former vice-president said Nigerians should not be expected to accept a one-month discount as a solution to the economic difficulties they have faced under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“Atiku totally rejects this calendar-scheduled, election-laced subsidy package. Nigerians are not fools to be offered a month of discounted fuel after years of punishing prices and then expected to forget the hardship when the discount expires,” he said.
He described the proposal as a political response to a crisis created in part by the government’s fuel pricing policies, questioning what would happen after the 30-day period.
“What happens on Day 31? Nigerians wake up to the same brutal prices, the same punishing transport fares and the same rising cost of food,” Atiku said.
He also questioned the scope of the proposed discount, noting that it would apply to petrol sold at NNPC stations.
According to him, the government had yet to disclose how much motorists would save per litre or guarantee that savings enjoyed by transport operators would translate into lower fares for passengers.
The former vice-president said the government’s decision to introduce the temporary intervention amounted to an admission that the hardship caused by high fuel prices could no longer be ignored.
“This volte-face proves that the production-support proposal I have advanced is workable, achievable and not complicated,” Atiku said.
He reiterated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to petrol refined in Nigeria, with safeguards designed to ensure that consumers benefit while supporting domestic refining.
Atiku said the government should pursue a sustainable solution instead of providing temporary relief that would expire after one month.
“Nigerians need lasting relief, not a countdown to the return of hardship. Tinubu’s government cannot spend years telling Nigerians to endure, then offer 30 days of relief and call it a solution,” he said.
The Federal Government had earlier announced a 30-day discount on petrol sold by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, with public transport operators to receive priority under the arrangement.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed the plan on Thursday during a press briefing in Abuja on petrol prices and subsidy-related issues.
Atiku, however, maintained that Nigerians needed a lasting reduction in the cost of living.
“Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again,” he said.
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