Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government’s planned 30-day petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) filling stations, arguing that the initiative would offer only short-term relief without resolving the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, described the plan as a “panic-driven publicity stunt” in a statement issued on Thursday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.
The Federal Government had announced that the discount would initially run for 30 days, with public transport operators given priority. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the arrangement would not amount to a return to petrol subsidy, explaining that the NNPC would sell petrol at cost during the period.
Atiku, however, argued that the intervention would not provide a lasting solution to the financial pressure facing Nigerians, questioning the timing and limited duration of the proposed discount.
He said, “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.”
The former vice president also questioned what would happen when the arrangement ends, warning that motorists and commuters could return to paying high prices for fuel and transportation while food costs remained elevated.
“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.
He further raised concerns about the programme’s reach, noting that the discount would be restricted to NNPC stations. According to him, the government had not specified the amount consumers would save per litre or explained how any reduction in transport operators’ fuel costs would translate into lower fares for passengers.
Atiku also argued that the proposed intervention lent support to his call for production support linked to petrol refined locally, a policy he said could provide relief while encouraging domestic refining.
“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,” he said.
He restated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, with safeguards to ensure consumers benefit from the intervention and domestic refining receives support.
Atiku maintained that Nigerians needed sustained relief rather than a temporary reduction in fuel costs, arguing that the planned discount would not resolve the broader economic challenges facing households.
“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.
He added, “Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again.”
