…Says former VP’s aides gave conflicting explanations within one week
The Presidency has taken a swipe at former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over what it described as conflicting positions on his plan to restore petrol subsidy, accusing him of making repeated policy U-turns ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the allegation in a statement titled, “Atiku confused on petrol subsidy; third U-turn in one week shows he is simply playing politics.”
Onanuga said Atiku and his aides had offered three different explanations of the former vice-president’s position on petrol subsidy within one week.
According to him, the controversy started when Atiku’s spokesperson, Paul Ibe, announced that the former vice-president would restore petrol subsidy if elected and later phase it out.
But another aide, Phrank Shaibu, reportedly rejected the statement, describing it as an “unauthorised and misleading characterisation” of Atiku’s position.
Shaibu was said to have explained that Atiku would retain the subsidy until domestic refining capacity increased, fuel supply stabilised and competition deepened in the market.
Atiku later weighed in on the controversy, insisting that his position had not changed and reaffirming his plan to introduce what he called a targeted subsidy.
“I will restore targeted subsidy and put purchasing power back in the hands of Nigerians,” Atiku was quoted as saying.
The Presidency, however, questioned how the former vice-president intended to implement the proposed policy.
Onanuga challenged Atiku to disclose the cost of the targeted subsidy, identify its beneficiaries, explain how they would be selected and state how the programme would be funded.
He also asked Atiku to explain the economic conditions that would determine when the subsidy would eventually be withdrawn.
“This is not merely a matter of semantics. It is a serious policy contradiction,” Onanuga said.
Presidency questions petrol subsidy plan
The presidential aide also faulted what he described as an attempt to link the price of petrol directly to the rising cost of living.
He argued that food inflation was driven by several factors, including insecurity, exchange-rate fluctuations, transportation and logistics costs, storage challenges, flooding and agricultural input prices.
Onanuga further questioned whether Atiku’s proposed subsidy would apply only to petrol, pointing out that crude oil is refined into several other products, including diesel, aviation fuel and kerosene.
He recalled that diesel was deregulated in 2004 during the administration in which Atiku served as Vice-President, while kerosene and aviation fuel were deregulated at different periods.
The Presidency accused Atiku of focusing too heavily on petrol prices while failing to present a comprehensive plan for tackling the broader economic pressures affecting Nigerians.
Onanuga warned that the Nigerian economy should not be subjected to what he described as “policy somersaults, incoherence, destructive populism and election gimmicks.”
