Tinubu’s 30-day fuel discount a panic-driven publicity stunt — Atiku taunts Nigerian leader

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government’s proposed 30-day petrol discount, saying it offers temporary relief without addressing the underlying cost-of-living crisis.

In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of introducing the measure for political reasons ahead of the 2027 elections.

His reaction followed Thursday’s announcement that petrol sold by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited would receive a temporary discount for an initial 30 days. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele said the measure formed part of a broader intervention package to ease fuel costs and stabilise prices. He described it as an arrangement to sell petrol at cost rather than a subsidy.

“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 statement said.

Atiku described the 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.

He also questioned the intervention’s reach, noting that it was limited to NNPC stations. He said the government had not specified the savings per litre or explained how discounts for transport operators would translate into lower fares. Atiku argued that the announcement contradicted the administration’s earlier position on relief measures and supported his proposal for assistance tied to domestic fuel production.

“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 reiterated his proposal for capped, budgeted support linked to fuel refined in Nigeria, with safeguards intended to ensure consumers benefit while encouraging 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.