Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the Federal Government’s proposed 30-day fuel discount, describing it as a desperate and temporary gesture that cannot address the hardship caused by high fuel prices.

In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of attempting to use a temporary fuel discount as a political response to the worsening cost-of-living crisis.

The former Vice President’s reaction followed the Federal Government’s announcement on Thursday that it would offer a discount on petrol dispensed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for an initial 30 days.

The measure is part of a fresh package of interventions announced by the government to cushion the impact of high fuel prices on Nigerians and stabilise pump prices.

Announcing the measure at a press briefing in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the discount was not a subsidy but an arrangement by the government to sell the petrol at cost.

But Atiku said the government had watched Nigerians endure severe hardship without providing meaningful relief, accusing the administration of offering temporary relief as the 2027 elections approach.

“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. This is shameless and heartless,” he said.

He described the 30-day discount as “not an economic plan but a political bandage on a wound the government had helped create.”

“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,” he said.

Atiku also questioned the scope of the intervention, noting that it is limited to NNPC stations. He said the government had yet to state how much motorists would save per litre or guarantee that savings for transport operators would be passed on to passengers through lower fares.

The ADC presidential candidate further described the government’s move as a reversal of its previous position on relief measures, saying it amounted to an admission of the severity of the hardship Nigerians had endured.

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

He reiterated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, with safeguards to ensure that the benefit reaches consumers while supporting local 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 said.

Atiku restated his commitment to making life more affordable for Nigerians. (Channels TV)

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