‘Nigerians need lasting relief’ — Atiku rejects FG’s 30-day petrol discount

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the federal government’s 30-day petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited stations as a “panic-driven publicity stunt”.

Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), spoke in a statement issued on Thursday by Phrank Shaibu, his director of strategic communication.

On Thursday, Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, announced that the federal government would offer a discount on petrol sold at NNPC stations for the next 30 days, with priority given to public transporters.

Oyedele said the gesture was not a return to petrol subsidy but an arrangement for the government to sell the product at cost.

Atiku, however, said the measure was a temporary response to the hardship caused by high petrol prices and would not address the underlying economic challenges.

“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,” the statement reads.

“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.

“The government cannot manufacture relief for one month and expect Nigerians to applaud while the hardship remains.”

The former vice-president also questioned the scope of the intervention, noting that the discount would be available at NNPC stations while the government had yet to announce the amount motorists would save per litre.

He also asked whether any reduction in fuel costs for transport operators would translate into lower fares for passengers.

Atiku said the government’s decision showed that intervention in the petrol market was possible despite its previous arguments against subsidy-style measures.

“This volte-face proves that the production-support proposal I have advanced is workable, achievable and not complicated,” he said.

“The Tinubu government and its spin doctors have tried to make it sound impossible, yet they are now reaching for a temporary subsidy-style intervention because the pain has become impossible to ignore.”

Atiku reiterated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to petrol refined in Nigeria, with safeguards to ensure that the benefit reaches consumers and supports domestic refining.

“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 added.