FG’s 30-day Petrol Discount: Atiku Demands Lasting Relief
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has faulted the Federal Government’s proposed 30-day petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited stations,
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President described the measure as a temporary intervention that would not address the hardship caused by high fuel prices.
The Federal Government had announced that the discount would run for an initial 30 days, with priority given to public transport operators.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedel, said that the 30-day arrangement is not a return to petrol subsidy, adding that the government would allow NNPC to sell petrol at cost during the period.
Atiku described the initiative as a “panic-driven publicity stunt” and accused the administration of offering temporary relief instead of addressing the wider cost-of-living crisis.
“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,” he said.
The former Vice President questioned what would happen after the 30-day period, arguing that Nigerians would still face high fuel, transport and food costs.
“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.
Atiku also questioned the scope of the intervention, noting that it would be limited to NNPC stations. He said the government had yet to disclose how much motorists would save per litre or guarantee that savings by transport operators would translate into lower fares for passengers.
The former Vice President further argued that the government’s decision to introduce the temporary measure supported his proposal for production support tied to locally refined petrol.
“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,” Atiku said.
He reiterated his proposal for capped and budgeted production support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, with safeguards to ensure that the benefits reach consumers while supporting domestic 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.
Atiku added, “Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again.”
