..Says N50 sweetener cannot erase 1,229 days of hardship
By Charles Olewezi
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, for the 2027 election, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of plagiarising his production subsidy proposal and reducing it to a 30-day fuel discount.
Atiku spoke at the inauguration of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on October 9, 2026.
He said Tinubu’s government mocked his proposal for targeted fuel support, called him ignorant of economics, and then turned around to announce a 30-day discount at NNPC stations.
“My fellow Nigerians, Bola Tinubu has had more than three years to improve our lives. What has he given us? A bag of food that costs more each time we go to the market. A journey to work that eats up our salaries,” Atiku said.
“Bola, your government has made life unbearable and called it reform. You have demanded painful sacrifices from the people while you, your family, and friends are junketing all over the place.”
Atiku said Tinubu copied without understanding.
“Bola, when I proposed targeted support to ease fuel costs, you called me ignorant. Your government said it could not be done. Now, in a desperate and clumsy retreat, you have shamelessly embraced the principle you mocked. You owe me an apology. But more importantly, you owe Nigerians an answer: what happens on day 31?”
“You are like a dull student who copied his classmate’s answer so blindly that he copied the classmate’s name at the top of his exam paper and then demanded marks for original thinking.”
“You heard ‘production subsidy’ and reduced it to a 30-day gesture. Where is the rest of the answer? Bola, you see why it is good to go to school!”
Atiku described the federal government’s discount as a sugar rush and Deception 101.
“My production subsidy proposal is a lasting, targeted plan. Yours is a temporary palliative dressed up as a solution. Nigerians can see the difference between a leader who has done the work and a government scrambling for an election-season headline.”
“Bola, your 30-day discount is a sugar rush masquerading as economic policy: a fleeting taste of relief at the pump, followed by the same brutal crash when the month ends. Families cannot plan their meals around a temporary discount.”
“Bola, you created the hardship and now want a medal for announcing fake relief. This is Deception 101 – or, better still, yahoo-yahoo subsidy. You offer a ₦50 petrol discount for 30 days and expect applause for returning a fraction of what Nigerians have lost?”
He said Nigerians have lived the hardship for 1,229 days since Tinubu took office on May 29, 2023.
Atiku listed his alternative:
“Support petroleum products actually refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians. Cap the support. Put it in the budget. Audit it independently. Exclude imports. Show the public what it costs and what they save. Give families relief they can count on.”
He queried the logic of priority for transporters: “Will fares fall? Who will enforce that? What about the farmer moving produce, the trader restocking a shop, the manufacturer running a generator? They all pay for fuel, even when they never fill a tank.”
On the forthcoming election in 2027, the former Vice President charged his campaign council to take the message to every market, motor park, farm and campus, and to teach Tinubu’s team elementary lessons.
“Lesson one: support goes to petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians. Lesson two: it must be capped, budgeted, and audited. Lesson three: Nigerians will still need relief after day 30. Bola, bring your economic advisers to class. This time, listen before you copy.”
He also demanded electoral reforms ahead of January 16 election – immediate publication of polling unit results, legal right for parties and observers to verify results and operate situation rooms, live broadcast of state and national collation, independent pre and post-election audits of technology, and an independent commission to prosecute electoral offences.
“There will be no ‘no-go’ areas in Nigeria. Opposition members are citizens with constitutional right to move freely. The attempt to block an opposition candidate from campaigning in Benue must not be repeated.”
“Thirty days cannot erase three and a half years of hardship. After this latest admission of failure, the honourable thing to do is step down. Nigerians deserve a government that will do the work and make life affordable again,” Atiku said.