Atiku Wants to Take Nigeria Back by 20 Years - Presidency

The Presidency has criticised African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy, warning that the policy would reverse Nigeria’s economic progress by two decades.

Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, made the remarks while backing Vice President Kashim Shettima’s earlier criticism of Atiku’s economic credentials.

Onanuga argued that Atiku lacks the expertise to manage Nigeria’s economy, recalling his early career as a sanitary inspector before joining the Nigerian Customs.Posting on X, Onanuga wrote:

“Atiku Abubakar’s only qualification before joining the Nigerian Customs was as a sanitary inspector. You wonder what he knows about economics, given that he now advocates a regressive subsidy policy that will set our country back by over 20 years.”

Shettima had similarly accused Atiku of pushing for subsidy restoration “for political convenience,” insisting that the policy would plunge Nigeria into poverty.

The debate over fuel subsidy remains a major fault line between the opposition and Tinubu’s administration, which scrapped the subsidy in May 2023, citing unsustainable fiscal costs.

While the government defends the removal as necessary, it has triggered higher fuel prices and increased living costs nationwide.