Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, has restated his pledge to restore petrol subsidy if elected president next year.
Atiku restated his position in a post on X on Tuesday evening, in apparent response to criticisms that trailed his earlier pledge to restore the controversial petrol subsidy, removed by the Bola Tinubu administration.
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“On the question of subsidy, my position has not changed and will not change: I will restore it! A nation as blessed as ours has no business abandoning its citizens to hardship. Nigeria is rich enough to look after her own,” the former vice president wrote.
The presidential candidate said he believed the progress and wealth of a country should be measured by citizens’ ability to purchase goods and services, rather than by how much revenue the government collects.
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“I believe the wealth of a nation is not measured by how much government collects, but by how much the money in the pockets of its people can buy,” he added.
Petrol subsidy has long been a disputed policy among Nigerians, with successive governments saying there was a need to remove it as the government could no longer afford it. However, proponents argued that its removal would worsen the plight of millions of Nigerians as it would lead to increases in the prices of goods and services.
President Tinubu, who defeated Atiku in the 2023 presidential election, announced the end of petrol subsidy on the day he was sworn into office.
The removal of the petrol subsidy, alongside the floating of the naira, contributed to Nigeria’s cost of living crisis, the worst in a generation, as the prices of goods and services tripled across the country.
The government has, however, defended the policy, saying it has eliminated waste and corruption and has made more money available to the government for investment in critical sectors, including education and infrastructure.
The presidency and the ruling party also criticised Atiku for changing his stance on petrol subsidy, having been a proponent of subsidy removal in previous election cycles.
The former vice president, who has sought Nigeria’s presidency in six election cycles since 1993, was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 and 2023 elections. He also contested the 2007 presidential election on the platform of the Action Congress, while losing presidential primaries in 1993, 2011 and 2015.
During the 2023 campaign, Atiku repeatedly argued that petrol subsidy was unsustainable and should be removed. In July 2022, he said subsidy removal was inevitable but should be implemented through negotiations with organised labour and other stakeholders. He also recalled that he chaired a committee on subsidy removal during his tenure as vice president and that the PDP administration had removed it in two phases.
In November 2022, he went further, saying he would complete the removal if elected president and channel the savings into the economy. He described the subsidy regime as “just a fraud.”
In December 2022, Atiku said he would address the issue within his first 100 days in office, arguing that subsidy was draining government resources that could be invested in critical sectors.
His position was also consistent with the stance of the other major presidential candidate during the 2023 election, Peter Obi. Messrs Atiku, Tinubu and Obi all publicly supported ending petrol subsidy, although they differed on the timing and manner of implementation.
His current pledge to restore petrol subsidy therefore represents a departure from the position he campaigned on in previous elections.
Restoring targeted subsidy
In his post, Atiku said he would restore a “targeted subsidy” by ensuring that transportation is affordable and accessible to Nigerians.
“I want wages to have value again. I want farmers to move produce without transport swallowing their profits. I want families to fill their baskets without emptying their pockets. I want businesses to produce, employ and prosper.
“That is why I will restore targeted subsidy and put purchasing power back in the hands of Nigerians,” he said.
The presidential candidate argued that affordable transportation would help reduce the cost of food and other essential goods, thereby easing the burden on households.
“When fuel rises, transport rises. When transport rises, food rises. When food rises, families suffer,” he added.
Atiku criticised the Tinubu administration, arguing that its policies had subjected Nigerians to greater hardship than it inherited.
He promised to reverse policies that he said had worsened the living conditions of Nigerians by supporting local production, reducing energy costs and restoring purchasing power.
“I will break that wretched chain that has defined our national life in the nearly four years of Tinubu’s presidency.
READ ALSO: APC accuses Atiku of desperation over pledge to restore fuel subsidy
“I will support Nigerian production, reduce energy costs and restore purchasing power. I will not restore the import racket; I will restore relief,” he added.
Atiku said his position on subsidy had remained consistent and noted that he reiterated the commitment when the leadership of the ADC in Osun State visited him at his Abuja residence on Tuesday.
He promised to govern Nigeria in a manner that would make daily living more affordable while strengthening the country’s economy and security.
“I restated this commitment when I received the Osun State leadership of the ADC in Abuja on Tuesday.
“I will make the naira in your pocket worth more, make daily living affordable again, and secure our people. Economic security. Physical security. A better life for every Nigerian. That is the Nigeria I intend to build.”
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