African Democratic Congress (ADC) has advised the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration to suspend the 5% fuel tax and remove import and regulatory charges that drive up the pump price of petrol.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, gave the advice on Monday while reacting to the rebuttal published by Sunday Dare, one of the President’s media aides, in response to the ADC’s birthday message to the President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces.

In a strongly worded statement, Dare described Abdullahi’s remarks as “elegant but strategically amnesiac,” arguing that the current economic and security challenges facing the country did not originate with the administration of President Tinubu.

Dare acknowledged that Nigerians are facing hardship, particularly following the removal of fuel subsidy and rising living costs, but insisted that such measures were necessary to correct years of unsustainable economic practices.

He emphasised that reforms should be assessed over time rather than through immediate public sentiment.

On security, Dare noted that Nigeria’s challenges are deeply rooted and cannot be resolved overnight, pointing to ongoing efforts to strengthen coordination, intelligence gathering, and investment in security infrastructure.

Reacting, the ADC spokesman said there were measures the government could take, which it either failed to consider or chose to ignore.

In the reaction titled “Right of Reply: Questions the Presidency Must Answer”, Abdullahi wondered if the Tinubu government was telling Nigerians that there was nothing they could do to bring down the price of fuel.

He said since the war on Iran started, governments all over the world had taken different emergency measures to keep the price of fuel down, stressing that “all we hear from the Tinubu government is that Nigerians should continue to endure.”

He said, “To start with, and this is what the ADC would do, suspend the 5% fuel tax and remove import and regulatory charges that drive up the pump price of petrol. This would immediately lower fuel costs, and with it, transport and food prices.”

Abdullahi added that “a government that continues to blame everyone else but itself, that continues to make promises instead of showing results, cannot be trusted. Nigerians do not need more explanations. We need a government that understands what people are going through, and acts to make life easier, not harder.”

The piece read, “Beyond the tone of that response, there is something more concerning: how easily the Presidency avoids the real, everyday reality Nigerians are living through.

“Inflation is not an abstract concept. It is the mother who can no longer afford food the way she did a year ago. It is the young worker whose salary has stayed the same while transport fares have doubled under this government. It is the small business owner watching costs rise faster than their sales.

“These are not theories. They are the direct consequences of decisions taken under the Bola Tinubu-led APC administration, particularly the abrupt removal of fuel subsidy without any immediate or credible cushioning for over 200 million Nigerians. Today, fuel prices have risen by nearly 500%, and everything else has followed.

“And so Nigerians are left with a few simple questions that deserve direct answers, not a carefully worded article at a time like this.”

The ADC spokesman said if the government was truly firm in its resolve, Nigerians deserved to see that firmness reflected first in the protection of innocent lives.

He said, “On security, the conversation is even more painful, because it is about lives.

“Under this presidency, Nigeria now ranks 4th on the Global Terrorism Index. But beyond rankings are real people, families who have lost loved ones, communities that no longer sleep with both eyes closed. Daughters raped in front of their fathers, and wives raped in front of their children. And in the short time between our birthday message and this rebuttal, at least 12 Nigerians were killed in Plateau State. Twelve people. Twelve families. In just a few hours. This is why Nigerians expect urgency, not explanations.

“If defence spending has increased, as the government often points out, then Nigerians are right to ask why they still feel unsafe in their homes, on their roads, and in their farms. And sometimes, it even feels like this government’s policies are harsher on Nigerians than the government is on terrorists and bandits, who, disturbingly, have at times been referred to as “sons” and “brothers”

“What Nigerians expect is accountability. What we receive instead are lectures. Nigerians are often infantilised, told we complain only because we do not understand what the government is doing. They speak as if governance is a mystery. We are told that the hardship is necessary. That this is reform. But Nigerians really want to know: when will this “necessary pain” begin to produce relief that people can actually feel?

“Because right now, what people feel is pain. What they see is struggle. And what we all hear from the government often does not match these daily realities.

“Perhaps the most consistent success of this administration has been in trying to convince Nigerians that things are improving, even when their lived reality suggests otherwise. Citizens are asked, again and again, to believe that what they are experiencing is progress. The cup is half full, they say.

“But Nigerians are not confused. They know when life is getting harder. They know when they feel less safe. They know when their money no longer goes as far. And no amount of explanation can replace that lived truth. The truth is that, for most Nigerians, the cup has gone completely empty since President Tinubu came to power.

“It is important to note that despite the number of words, and the audacity to take out a back page column, the Presidency did not deny the hardship. It did not deny the insecurity. It did not deny the rising cost of living. The only thing it denies is responsibility, hoping that if it repeats its “cup is half full” mantra long enough, Nigerians will begin to deny their own reality and believe that things are getting better. No, they are not. They are getting worse.“ (Nigerian Tribune)