Petrol Price Hike: Atiku Says Tinubu’s Reforms Fuel Poverty

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of worsening poverty and economic hardship through its economic reforms.

Atiku said the continued increase in petrol prices despite declining crude oil prices was evidence that the government’s policies were transferring the burden of economic adjustment directly to Nigerian households.

The former Vice President spoke in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

He was reacting to claims by the Presidency that his proposed targeted intervention on petrol would cost about N22tn.

Atiku dismissed the figure as an estimate based on assumptions made by the Presidency, arguing that his proposal was not a return to the former open-ended fuel subsidy regime.

He said his proposed intervention would be targeted, capped, appropriated, transparent and independently audited, with emphasis on domestic production and measurable benefits to consumers.

According to him, the administration should first provide a detailed reconciliation of Federation Account revenues before attempting to calculate the cost of policies proposed by the opposition.

He said, “The latest trick is the claim that Atiku’s targeted intervention will cost N22tn. That figure is not Atiku’s policy. It is Villa arithmetic built on Villa assumptions.

“They selected their own pump price, subsidy rate and financing model, multiplied their assumptions and then presented the result as Atiku’s bill.
“That is not economic analysis. It is arithmetic vandalism.”

Atiku said the government should explain why Nigerians continued to face rising food, transportation and energy costs despite increased government revenues following the removal of petrol subsidy.

He said his earlier analysis of published Federation Account Allocation Committee figures showed that nearly N30tn in revenues, deductions, savings and transfers required explanation by the administration as of July 2026.

“If Aso Rock has suddenly discovered a calculator, Nigerians would like it applied to the Federation Account too. Before inventing trillions for Atiku, account clearly for the trillions collected, deducted, saved and transferred under Tinubu,” he said.

Atiku’s comments came amid another increase in petrol prices across the country.

He cited reports that MRS had increased its petrol price from N1,205 to N1,310 per litre, while some other marketers were selling between N1,315 and above N1,400 per litre, with prices potentially heading towards N1,500.

He said the impact of the rising petrol price extended beyond motorists, as higher transportation and energy costs were passed on to consumers through the prices of food and other goods.

“At N1,500 per litre, 20 litres would cost N30,000. That is not an abstract figure on an economist’s spreadsheet. That is money disappearing from a family’s feeding allowance,” Atiku said.

He argued that farmers, transporters, traders, artisans and other Nigerians were already bearing the consequences of higher energy and transportation costs.

“The same mathematics follows bread from the bakery, garri from the farm, a child into a school bus and a worker into a commercial vehicle,” he said.

The former Vice President also criticised the timing of President Tinubu’s three-week vacation in Europe, which the Presidency said began with his departure from Abuja for London on Saturday.

Although Atiku acknowledged the President’s constitutional right to take annual leave, he said the timing raised questions about leadership and public perception, given the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians.

He said, “The issue is not that a President takes leave. The issue is that a country in distress increasingly sees a government insulated from the consequences of its own policies.

“Nigerians sacrifice while government travels, spends and lectures them about patience.”

Atiku said his proposed economic alternative would focus on reducing production, transportation and living costs rather than simply increasing government revenues.

He maintained that economic reforms should be designed to protect household purchasing power and reduce the burden of rising costs on citizens.

He said, “You cannot make transportation expensive, make food expensive, make energy expensive and then distribute rice as evidence that your economic policy works.

“You cannot break a man’s leg and demand applause because you brought him a crutch.”

Atiku said Nigerians were more concerned about the immediate impact of government policies on their daily lives than the competing economic calculations coming from political actors.

He added that the proposed N22tn cost being attributed to his policy would not reduce transport fares or food prices.
“Nigerians do not live inside the Presidency’s calculator. They live in markets, buses, farms, workshops and kitchens where Tinubu’s policies confront them every day,” he said.