Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate and former vice president, has renewed his criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the administration’s call for lower transport costs across Nigeria.
Quick facts
- Tinubu met governors from across Nigeria on Thursday.
- He directed the rollout of 500 additional compressed natural gas (CNG) stations.
- Atiku said the government’s relief measures came too late, after nearly three years in office.
- Atiku has proposed restoring fuel subsidies if elected in 2027.
Tinubu instructed the governors to work toward reducing fares after the meeting. Atiku responded in a statement issued by his media team on Friday, arguing that promises to ease hardship were belated after three years of the president’s administration.
He described the latest initiative as an urgent but delayed attempt to address a cost-of-living emergency that, in his view, was produced by the government’s own policies. Atiku said Nigeria could not withstand another four years of what he called “monumental failure.”
Atiku also argued that the president’s suggestion that lower fuel prices should lead to cheaper transport exposed a disconnect between energy policy and household realities. He said Nigerians had spent more than three years seeking relief while the government removed the fuel subsidy without a dependable support programme.
That decision, he said, was followed by sharply higher transport expenses, rising food prices and severe energy costs that put businesses under pressure. Atiku added that the government repeatedly presented the resulting hardship as an unavoidable consequence of economic reform.
Atiku has previously advocated bringing back fuel subsidies if he wins the 2027 presidential election. Tinubu’s administration and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) rejected that proposal, describing it as a cheap political gimmick.
In a recent interview, Atiku also pledged to eliminate all borders in northern Nigeria and restore the functionality of ports in the south.
