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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday, said President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day broadcast has shown how far the present administration has allegedly drifted from reality.
Atiku, in a statement by the Director of Strategic Communication ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said while the President spoke of prosperity, most Nigerians are grappling with economic hardship.
The former Vice President noted that President Tinubu was defending
policies that have made fuel and basic necessities increasingly unaffordable, and dismissed subsidies as “addictive,” whereas Germany is cutting fuel taxes to shield its people from rising costs.
According to him, “the Tinubu administration has failed one of government’s most basic duties: protecting ordinary Nigerians from crushing economic hardship. Families are skipping meals, struggling to pay for transport and watching their hard earned money disappear before the month is over.
” Yet the government offers excuses instead of relief. Germany, which shares a border with France, Tinubu’s ‘new home,’ is cutting fuel taxes to shield its people from rising costs.
‘Germany has cut gasoline and diesel taxes by €0.17 per litre from October through December, at an estimated cost of €2.5 billion. Prices at the pump have begun to fall.
“When petrol becomes more expensive, transport becomes more expensive. When transport costs rise, food and other essentials cost more. The hardship follows Nigerians from the filling station to the market and into their homes.
“Germany understands that when fuel prices put families under pressure, government must act. Nigerians deserve the same compassion and urgency.”
Atiku , who stated that lower fuel costs can mean a cheaper bus ride, more affordable goods at the market and more money left in a family’s pocket, said Nigeria’s wealth should ease the burden on its people.
The ADC candidate explained that “Our plan is to restore targeted, budgeted support for fuel refined in Nigeria, with strict auditing and a guarantee that the benefit lowers pump prices. Support will follow the barrel refined here, creating jobs here and easing costs for Nigerians. It will be funded by cutting waste, protected against diversion and price manipulation, and will not apply to imported fuel.
“To every Nigerian forced to choose between feeding a family, paying for transport or meeting another basic need, I am deeply sorry. You did not deserve this hardship. Tinubu made life unbearably expensive and called your suffering the price of reform. I will make life affordable again.”
