- Says 30-Day Petrol Discount Can’t Erase Years of Hardship
- ‘It’s A Temporary Palliative’, Tinubu Must Resign
- ‘No One Copies a Serial Loser’: Presidency Fires Back
- Optimistic Nigeria Will Forge Ahead
The battle for Nigeria’s 2027 presidency has taken a fresh combative turn, with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar accusing President Bola Tinubu of copying his economic proposal “like a dull student”, while the Presidency dismissed the allegation as another display of self-aggrandisement by an opposition politician.
The war of words erupted after Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), criticised the Federal Government’s proposed 30-day petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) stations, arguing that the intervention borrowed from his proposed production subsidy but failed to address the country’s deepening cost-of-living crisis.
Atiku made the remarks on Friday while inaugurating the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, where he accused the Tinubu administration of offering temporary relief after more than three years of economic hardship.
The Presidency, however, rejected the claim that Tinubu had copied Atiku’s proposal, insisting that the former vice-president’s recommendations had been ignored and that the government’s intervention was fundamentally different from the policy he advocated.
In a strongly worded response, the Presidency also accused Atiku of inconsistency and disrespect towards the President, while declaring that the administration remained committed to completing its “Renewed Hope” agenda by 2031.
‘Tinubu copied my proposal badly’ — Atiku
Atiku accused the President of adopting the principle behind his production subsidy proposal after previously dismissing it, only to reduce it to a temporary petrol discount that would leave Nigerians facing the same economic pressures when the 30-day period expires.
“Bola, when I proposed targeted support to ease fuel costs, you called me ignorant of economic policy. Your government said it could not be done. Now, in a desperate and clumsy retreat, you have shamelessly embraced the principle you mocked. You owe me an apology,” he said.
The former vice-president argued that the proposed discount was inadequate to address rising transportation costs, food prices, expensive electricity and the mounting pressure on households and businesses.
He challenged the government to explain what would happen after the 30-day intervention expired, insisting that Nigerians needed a sustainable policy rather than what he described as an election-season palliative.
“But more importantly, you owe Nigerians an answer: what happens on day 31?” Atiku asked.
In one of his sharpest attacks, the ADC candidate likened Tinubu to a student who copied another student’s examination answers without understanding the lesson.
“You copied my production subsidy proposal, stripped away the part that makes it work, and handed Nigerians a 30-day discount. Where is the rest of the answer? Bola, you see why it is good to go to school!” he said.
Atiku maintained that his proposal was designed to support petroleum products refined locally and sold to Nigerians, with clear financial limits, budgetary provisions and independent auditing.
He said such an arrangement would provide predictable relief to consumers while encouraging domestic refining, rather than relying on a discount with a fixed expiry date.
“My alternative is clear. Support petroleum products actually refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians. Cap the support. Put it in the budget. Audit it independently. Exclude imports. Show the public what it costs and what they save,” he said.
Presidency fires back
The Presidency responded with a blistering counterattack, dismissing Atiku’s claim that Tinubu had borrowed his economic ideas and questioning the former vice-president’s understanding of the government’s intervention.
It argued that the proposed 30-day discount did not amount to the reintroduction of fuel subsidies, challenging Atiku to establish who would finance the intervention, how much it would cost the national purse and what effect it would have on daily crude oil production.
In its statement, the Presidency said: “No one copies from a serial loser, especially not this President, who has won every election he has participated in on the very first attempt.”
It further insisted that Atiku’s suggestions had not influenced the government’s policies.
“Back to his claim of having suggested ‘production subsidies’ to this administration and that the same has now been copied, albeit in a different or wrong way, but it is important to clarify to Alhaji that whatever suggestions he thinks he made are waiting for him in the abyss of neglect,” the Presidency said.
The administration maintained that Atiku had misunderstood the details of the intervention by interpreting the temporary petrol discount as evidence that the government had adopted his production subsidy proposal.
It urged the former vice-president to compare the two approaches before claiming credit for the government’s policy.
The Presidency also argued that the federal fiscal position had not been transformed by the intervention into a return to fuel subsidies, raising questions about its funding arrangements and implications for domestic crude production.
Cost-of-living crisis becomes campaign battleground
Beyond the personal exchanges, the dispute has exposed the economic hardship facing Nigerians as a central battleground ahead of the 2027 elections.
Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of worsening living conditions through policies that, according to him, had driven up food prices, transportation costs, electricity expenses and the cost of running businesses.
“My fellow Nigerians, Bola Tinubu has had more than three years to improve our lives. What has he given us? A bag of food that costs more each time we go to the market. A journey to work that eats up our salaries. A business that cannot keep its lights on. A farm we may be too afraid to visit,” he said.
He argued that the government’s proposed discount would do little to ease the financial pressure on farmers, traders, manufacturers and households unless the benefits translated into lower transportation costs and cheaper goods.
The former vice-president also questioned how the government would ensure that transport operators passed the discount on to passengers, rather than retaining the benefit.
He insisted that fuel-price relief must form part of a wider economic programme addressing food affordability, electricity supply, employment, business growth and insecurity.
The Presidency, however, maintained that Atiku’s claim of policy appropriation was misplaced and accused him of seeking political credit for an intervention it said was different from his proposal.
Atiku demands Tinubu’s resignation
Atiku escalated the confrontation by calling on Tinubu to step down, arguing that a 30-day petrol discount could not compensate Nigerians for the economic difficulties they had endured over the preceding three and a half years.
He accused the President of failing to provide lasting relief and challenged the administration to take responsibility for the cost of living and the pressure on businesses.
“Bola, thirty days cannot erase three and a half years of hardship. Nigerians have heard your excuses and endured your failed promises. They are ready to judge your record,” Atiku said.
“After this latest admission of failure, the honourable thing to do is step down. Nigerians deserve a government that will do the work and make life affordable again.”
The Presidency, in its response, said the government would not be distracted by the opposition’s criticism and vowed to complete its Renewed Hope agenda by 2031.
“Nigeria keeps forging ahead. We appreciate the distractions he has brought to the table, but we refuse to be derailed. This journey of Renewed Hope must and will be completed by 2031, and President Tinubu will lead us into the promised land,” it said.
2027 campaign battle widens
The exchange came as Atiku inaugurated the ADC Presidential Campaign Council and urged its members to take the party’s economic proposals to markets, motor parks, farms, campuses and communities nationwide.
He charged the council to explain how an ADC administration would address the cost-of-living crisis and how its proposed interventions would be financed.
Atiku also demanded electoral safeguards ahead of the 2027 polls, including immediate publication of polling-unit results, independent audits of election technology, transparent collation processes and stronger protections for opposition parties and election observers.
He warned against attempts to restrict opposition candidates from campaigning in any part of the country, insisting that political parties must be allowed to exercise their constitutional rights nationwide.
The former vice-president said economic reforms would have limited impact if the integrity of the electoral process was not protected.
With the Presidency rejecting his claim of policy appropriation and Atiku intensifying his attacks on the administration, the dispute over the 30-day petrol discount has become another flashpoint in the emerging battle for the 2027 presidential election.
