'Nigerians Deserve Clarity' - Presidency Demands Answers From Atiku on Subsidy

Presidency accuses Atiku of playing politics with fuel subsidy.
Atiku says he would restore targeted subsidy if elected.
Onanuga demands clarity over Atiku’s proposed subsidy policy.

The Presidency has accused former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, of playing politics with fuel subsidy ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the accusation while reacting to Atiku’s recent comments on the policy.

Onanuga said conflicting statements from Atiku’s camp had created confusion over his position on fuel subsidy.

“Is he seriously proposing an economic policy, or is he simply playing politics with the temporary discomfort Nigerians face?” Onanuga asked.

He said Nigerians had received three different explanations within one week about what an Atiku administration would do with petrol subsidy.

Atiku’s spokesperson, Paul Ibe, had said Atiku would restore subsidy if elected and later phase it out.

However, another senior aide, Phrank Shaibu, reportedly rejected the position, describing Ibe’s statement as an “unauthorised and misleading characterisation” of Atiku’s position.

Shaibu said the subsidy would remain until domestic refining improves, fuel supply becomes stable, competition increases and market forces deliver affordable prices without government intervention.

Atiku later said his position had not changed and promised to introduce a “targeted subsidy” if elected.

“I will restore targeted subsidy and put purchasing power back in the hands of Nigerians,” Atiku said.

Reacting to the conflicting positions, Onanuga said:

“If Atiku’s position has not changed, why did one of his principal aides say the subsidy would be temporary and phased out?”

“Why did another senior aide have to publicly disown that explanation and introduce a completely different framework based on market conditions? And why did Atiku then step in to reaffirm the original position?”

Onanuga also challenged Atiku to explain his proposed targeted subsidy.

“How much will it cost? Who will benefit? How will beneficiaries be identified? Where will the funding come from?”

He also asked Atiku to state the conditions that would determine when the subsidy would eventually end.

“Nigerians deserve clarity, not policy by trial and error,” Onanuga said.

'Nigerians Deserve Clarity' - Presidency Demands Answers From Atiku on Subsidy — ‘Nigerians Deserve Clarity’ – Presidency Demands Answers From Atiku on Subsidy

The presidential aide also rejected the suggestion that petrol prices were solely responsible for Nigeria’s cost of living crisis.

He said factors including agricultural productivity, insecurity, exchange rates, transportation, logistics costs, storage, flooding, input prices, money supply and supply constraints also affected prices.

Onanuga urged Atiku to present a broader economic programme instead of making petrol subsidy the centrepiece of his campaign.

“Nigerians cannot afford another opaque and potentially costly subsidy regime dressed up in new language,” he said.

He added:

“Either he has a coherent, costed, and workable petroleum policy, or he is simply playing politics with a policy that has significantly restored fiscal health to the three tiers of government and stabilised the macroeconomic environment.”

Onanuga concluded that Nigeria’s economy was too important to be subjected to “policy somersaults, incoherence, populism and election gimmicks.”