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The Nigerian presidency has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of confusion over his position on petrol subsidy, saying his latest comments show he is “simply playing politics with the temporary discomfort Nigerians face.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said Nigerians had heard three different explanations from Atiku’s camp within one week on what his administration would do about petrol subsidy.
“The latest comments by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on petrol subsidy raise a fundamental question: is he seriously proposing an economic policy, or is he simply playing politics with the temporary discomfort Nigerians face?”Onanuga said.
Onanuga said Atiku’s spokesperson, Paul Ibe, first said Atiku would restore petrol subsidy if elected president and later phase it out as a temporary intervention.
Then came a clarification from another senior aide, Phrank Shaibu, who said Ibe’s statement was an “unauthorised and misleading characterisation” of Atiku’s position.
Shaibu said Atiku would not set a predetermined date for ending the subsidy but would keep it until domestic refining expanded and supply stabilised.
But hours later, Atiku himself insisted his position “has not changed” and that he would restore a “targeted subsidy” if elected president.
“If Atiku’s position has not changed, why did one of his principal aides say the subsidy would be temporary and phased out? Why did another senior aide have to publicly disown that explanation and introduce a completely different framework based on market conditions? And why did Atiku then step in to reaffirm the original position?” Onanuga asked.
“This is not merely a matter of semantics. It is a serious policy contradiction and confusion.”
Onanuga also criticised Atiku’s argument that rising petrol prices lead to rising transport costs and food prices, saying petrol prices alone had never caused food inflation.
“Nigerians experienced rising food prices even during the years when petrol subsidy was in place,” he said.
He argued that agricultural productivity, insecurity, exchange rates, logistics and other factors also matter, adding that President Bola Tinubu had been addressing these issues.
The presidency challenged Atiku to explain precisely what he meant by “targeted subsidy”: how much it would cost, who would benefit, how beneficiaries would be identified, how it would be funded, and what conditions would determine its eventual termination.
“The former vice-president should be honest with Nigerians: either he has a coherent, costed, and workable petroleum policy, or he is simply playing politics with a policy that has significantly restored fiscal health to the three tiers of government and stabilised the macroeconomic environment,” Onanuga said.
