{"id":129120,"date":"2026-08-21T07:17:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T06:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=129120"},"modified":"2026-08-21T07:17:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T06:17:48","slug":"tinubu-slams-atiku-over-comments-on-restoring-fuel-subsidy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/tinubu-slams-atiku-over-comments-on-restoring-fuel-subsidy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinubu slams Atiku Over Comments on Restoring Fuel Subsidy"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lizzy Chirkpi<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Bola\u00a0 Tinubu has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar\u2019s proposal to restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027, describing the position as evidence of what he called \u201cserious ignorance\u201d of governance and the economy.<\/p>\n

Tinubu spoke on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while receiving Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who paid a thank-you visit to the President following his victory in the August 15 governorship election.<\/p>\n

Reacting to Atiku\u2019s position, Tinubu said: \u201cI saw one of my opponents now say he will go back to subsidy. I read it. That is a demonstration of serious ignorance on governance and economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The President defended his administration\u2019s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy had significantly increased resources available to state governments and strengthened their capacity to meet financial obligations, including the payment of salaries and pensions.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I came here, 27 states were unable to pay salaries, not to even talk of pensioners, salary of workers,\u201d Tinubu said.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIn your state, I know a man that I raised who is nicknamed \u2018Half Salary.\u2019 They come to the federal, cap in hand, unable to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tinubu argued that the ultimate measure of increased government revenue should be its impact on the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.<\/p>\n

\u201cSalary you pay feeds families,\u201d he said, stressing that workers and their families live across the states and local governments.<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s remarks followed Atiku\u2019s renewed pledge to introduce a new form of fuel subsidy if elected in 2027.<\/p>\n

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has argued that the subsidy regime should be restructured, maintaining that the financial gains from its removal have not translated sufficiently into improved living conditions for Nigerians.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview, Atiku said he did not oppose the removal of the subsidy but questioned how the funds saved from the policy had been utilised.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t oppose the removal of subsidy. But where is the money? The money gotten should have been used to tackle poverty, out-of-school children and other things,\u201d Atiku said.<\/p>\n

He subsequently stated: \u201cWhere is the money? They stole it. I will return fuel subsidy.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Atiku\u2019s campaign has sought to distinguish his proposal from the former subsidy regime, saying the proposed model would shift government support away from imported petroleum products towards domestic refining.<\/p>\n

Under the proposed arrangement, the subsidy would be capped, budgeted and tied to verifiable domestic production, with the stated objective of ensuring that the benefit reaches consumers while reducing dependence on imported fuel.<\/p>\n

During his meeting with Adeleke, Tinubu urged the Osun governor to use his electoral victory to promote reconciliation, peace and political stability rather than victimise opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are in a very unique position to make history, promote unity, peace and stability,\u201d Tinubu told Adeleke.<\/p>\n

\u201cPromote democracy. Promote stability. Promote the rule of law. Don\u2019t stigmatise any of your opponents. You did not conquer anybody; you won the election. That is the essence of democracy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s comments came amid heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with competing political parties and presidential aspirants presenting sharply different positions on the future of fuel pricing, subsidies and economic policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lizzy Chirkpi President Bola\u00a0 Tinubu has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar\u2019s proposal to restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027, describing the position as evidence of what…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTinubu slams Atiku Over Comments on Restoring Fuel Subsidy - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/tinubu-slams-atiku-over-comments-on-restoring-fuel-subsidy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tinubu slams Atiku Over Comments on Restoring Fuel Subsidy - 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