By Eshioromeh Sebastian
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has demanded a public apology from President Bola Tinubu for ridiculing his proposal to reintroduce fuel subsidy.
The former vice president also warned that the President faces defeat in the 2027 election if he fails to retract his dismissive remarks and quietly withdraw from the contest.
Atiku issued the ultimatum in a statement released by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in response to what he described as the Presidency’s sustained campaign of mockery against his policy blueprint for energy affordability.
The former vice president’s demand follows a recent intervention by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), which called on the Federal Government to provide support for domestic refiners as a means of reducing petrol prices. Atiku argued that IPMAN’s position effectively validates his earlier proposal, which the Presidency had publicly dismissed as economically illiterate.
According to Atiku, the marketers’ appeal demonstrates that industry operators recognise the crushing effect of high fuel costs on Nigerian businesses and households, a reality he claims the President has chosen to ignore while branding any alternative approach as ignorance.
Atiku recently unveiled a comprehensive plan to reintroduce fuel subsidy, but with a critical distinction from the previous import-based model. His proposal targets domestic production, aiming to strengthen local refining capacity under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) while ensuring that Nigerians gain tangible relief at the pump.
He maintained that the PIA itself recognises the importance of local processing and affordable access to petroleum products, insisting that his policy aligns with the spirit of the law rather than contradicting it.
The ADC candidate drew a sharp analogy to clarify his position, contrasting the old import subsidy regime with his proposed production-linked intervention. He likened the difference to “a farmer who harvests cassava, sells it all cheaply and then travels elsewhere to buy expensive garri for his family, and one who builds the capacity to process his cassava at home.” He described it as “economic foolishness” for Nigeria to possess crude oil in abundance, fail to maximise its processing domestically, and then tell citizens that unaffordable fuel is the price they must pay for reform.
Citing the DailyFuels Fuel Affordability Index, Atiku noted that Nigeria ranks 91st on the affordability scale, with the average Nigerian requiring approximately 44 minutes of work to afford one litre of petrol. He calculated that filling a 40-litre tank represents about 29.5 hours of work under the index methodology, painting what he called a stark picture of the Tinubu economy.
The former vice president argued that while petrol may appear cheap when converted to dollars and compared with wealthier nations, “Nigerians do not earn American or European salaries,” making the current price regime an unbearable burden on ordinary citizens.
Atiku welcomed IPMAN into the conversation, expressing hope that marketers, refiners, regulators, consumers, and independent monitors would work together ahead of 2027 to build a system where “support follows the Nigerian barrel and relief follows that support all the way to the filling station.” He described that as “the contract we offer Nigerians: local capacity first, transparency first, purchasing power first and affordable energy first.”
Turning his focus directly to President Tinubu, Atiku declared that the President had squandered the opportunity to prioritise Nigerian welfare when relief was most needed, choosing instead to impose hardship while branding it as reform. He insisted that “two honourable options” now remain for the President: “apologise to Atiku Abubakar and, more importantly, to the Nigerian people for ridiculing a policy principle that major petroleum-sector players are beginning to recognise and quietly withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest or wait to be rejected at the polls in January.”
Atiku emphasised that the matter transcends personal rivalry between himself and the President, insisting that it is fundamentally about the welfare of Nigerians. “You cannot empty their pockets, call it reform, ridicule the ideas intended to make their lives affordable and then ask them to reward you with another four years,” he declared.
He concluded by stating that while President Tinubu may continue defending expensive petrol, his campaign will continue building “the coalition that will make Nigeria affordable again from 2027.”
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