Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Tinubu to explain what will happen after the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount expires, accusing the administration of offering temporary relief after dismissing his earlier proposal to ease fuel costs.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, spoke on Friday at the inauguration of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, where he described the discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) stations as inadequate to address the hardship Nigerians have endured over the past three years.
He said households, transport operators, farmers and businesses had been burdened by rising food prices, transportation costs and operating expenses, insisting that the approaching election had heightened the need for the government to account for its economic policies.
“When I proposed targeted support to ease fuel costs, your government said it could not be done. Now you have embraced principle you mocked. You owe me apology. But more importantly, you owe Nigerians answer: what happens on day 31?” he said.
The former vice president argued that the 30-day discount, which prioritises public transport operators, was a temporary palliative rather than a sustainable solution to the country’s fuel affordability crisis.
He advocated a production subsidy designed to support petroleum products refined locally, arguing that families, transporters and businesses needed lasting relief they could plan around, rather than short-term interventions.
Atiku recalled that during his State of the Nation address on September 18, 2026, he had offered to share his economic relief plan with the Federal Government.
Under his proposal, he said, government support would apply to petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians, with the intervention capped, captured in the budget and independently audited. Imported petroleum products would be excluded, while the government would publicly disclose the cost of the programme and the savings delivered to consumers.
He maintained that fuel affordability was only one part of Nigeria’s economic challenges, stressing that food prices, reliable electricity, job creation, security on roads and farms, and the removal of barriers confronting young Nigerians also required urgent attention.
Turning to the campaign council, Atiku charged members to take the ADC’s message to markets, motor parks, farms, campuses and streets, urging them to listen to citizens and clearly communicate the party’s plans.
He called on members to approach the assignment with seriousness, urgency and passion, saying the January 16 election would have significant implications for the welfare and future of Nigerian families.
Atiku also urged eligible Nigerians to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and participate in the election, describing the ballot as a means of determining whether living conditions would become affordable again.
On electoral transparency, he demanded that accredited party agents, civil society organisations and election observers be allowed to independently verify results and operate situation rooms.
He called for reforms requiring the immediate publication of polling-unit results, protection of the legal rights of parties and observers to verify results, and live broadcasts of state and national collation centres. He also advocated independent audits of election technology and penalties for vote suppression and electoral fraud.
The ADC presidential candidate further insisted that opposition parties must be allowed to campaign freely throughout the country, declaring that no part of Nigeria should be treated as inaccessible to the opposition.
“Thirty days cannot erase three and a half years of hardship. Nigerians have heard excuses and endured failed promises. They are ready to judge record,” he said.
