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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja and Okey Sampson, Umuahia
African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has told President Bola Tinubu that Nigerians need affordable food, fuel and transportation, not biblical lectures justifying the economic hardship they have endured since the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023.
The former vice-president accused Tinubu of celebrating a policy that had pushed up living costs and deepened the financial difficulties confronting millions of households, insisting that Nigerians were more interested in practical measures to ease their suffering than explanations about why the country could not return to the past.
Atiku’s criticism came as the Director-General of his Presidential Campaign Council, Austin Akobundu, unveiled plans to reactivate the Eastern maritime port corridor, stimulate industrial activities and create jobs as part of the ADC candidate’s proposed economic recovery programme if elected in 2027.
The twin interventions underscored the emerging economic policy confrontation between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ADC ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election, with petrol prices, rising living costs and the revival of productive sectors taking centre stage.
Atiku’s criticism followed Tinubu’s declaration on Monday that he had no regrets about removing petrol subsidy and that restoring it would amount to taking Nigeria back to Egypt, a biblical reference to the Israelites’ journey from captivity.
In a statement issued by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku challenged the President to explain how his administration intended to make life affordable for ordinary Nigerians rather than defend the consequences of its economic policies.
“You celebrate the day you made fuel more expensive, then lecture families struggling to pay for food and transport about why they must never go back.
“A mother trying to feed her children cannot pay for food with a metaphor. A worker cannot get to work on a story about the Red Sea. Nigerians are asking how you intend to make life affordable. Answer them,” Atiku said.
Tinubu had, at An Evening with the Original City Boy, organised by the City Boy Movement on Monday, defended his decision to remove petrol subsidy, arguing that reversing the policy would undermine the economic reforms undertaken by his administration.
The President, who announced the subsidy removal in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, maintained that Nigeria could not return to what he described as a failed economic path.
The policy was followed by sharp increases in petrol prices, transport fares and the cost of goods and services, making its consequences a major issue in the political contest ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku, who recently proposed targeted support for petroleum products refined in Nigeria, rejected the Presidency’s criticism of his plan, insisting that the intervention would differ fundamentally from the previous subsidy regime.
The Presidency had dismissed the proposal as evidence of the former vice-president’s poor understanding of governance and economic management, maintaining that a return to subsidy would reverse gains recorded under Tinubu’s reforms.
However, Atiku explained that his proposal would provide limited and budgeted relief exclusively for verified petroleum products refined locally and sold to Nigerian consumers, with safeguards against the abuses associated with the former subsidy arrangement.
“Imported fuel gets nothing. Independent auditors must track every naira, and the benefit must reach consumers in the price they pay. If it does not lower that price, it has failed its purpose,” he said.
Reinforcing the proposal, Akobundu, who spoke while inaugurating the Atiku/Akobundu Vanguard, a grassroots support group, in Osisioma Ngwa and Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Areas of Abia State, said the proposed intervention would help reduce transportation costs and ease the burden of rising prices of food, housing, education and other essential goods and services.
The senator, who is also the ADC candidate for Abia Central, blamed the country’s economic difficulties on the policies of the Tinubu administration, arguing that Atiku possessed the experience and economic blueprint to reverse the trend.
“President Tinubu’s policies have pushed Nigerians into unprecedented hardship and made us the poverty capital of the world.
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“But Atiku Abubakar comes with the experience, compassion and competence to reverse this decline. He will make Nigeria affordable, productive and respected again.”
Akobundu identified the reactivation of the Eastern maritime port corridor as a major component of Atiku’s proposed economic agenda for the South-East, saying the initiative would expand access to international trade, stimulate industrial activity, create jobs and strengthen the region’s economic base.
The proposal places maritime infrastructure and regional industrial development alongside fuel affordability in the campaign’s economic agenda, particularly for businesses in the South-East that depend on access to ports for imports, exports and the movement of industrial goods.
“Atiku has a clear, actionable plan to revive the economy of the South-East alongside every other region. With the Atiku Abubakar/Rotimi Amaechi ticket, no region will be left behind.”
Akobundu described Atiku as a detribalised leader with the experience and national outlook required to unite the country, adding that his appointment as campaign director-general reflected the former vice-president’s commitment to inclusiveness.
Beyond the economy, Atiku also criticised Tinubu’s handling of insecurity, rejecting suggestions that the administration’s performance should be judged against the security challenges inherited from former president Muhammadu Buhari.
He specifically faulted a remark attributed to Tinubu’s campaign director-general questioning what the President could do about insecurity when Buhari, a retired military general, had been unable to eliminate the problem.
Atiku argued that the failures of a previous administration could not excuse continued killings, kidnappings and attacks on communities after more than three years of Tinubu’s presidency.
“Nigerians expect their President to confront the killers, rescue the abducted and make it possible to travel, farm, work and sleep without fear
“If Tinubu cannot tell them how he will do that after more than three years in office, he has no business asking for four more years. The lives lost under his watch are not an argument about his predecessor. They are an indictment of his own leadership,”
he said.
The former vice-president also raised concerns about the welfare of police personnel, linking poor remuneration and retirement benefits to the difficulties confronting officers expected to protect lives and property.
He disclosed that a retired assistant superintendent of police had told him he received a monthly pension of N29,000, while some serving officers were allegedly drawing on their pension savings to feed their families.
“How can a President demand courage from police officers in the field while leaving them worried about food at home and destitution in retirement?” he asked.
Atiku said Nigerians deserved affordable fuel, secure communities and police officers whose welfare would not be sacrificed during active service or retirement.
“Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again,” he declared.
Akobundu also used the inauguration of the grassroots campaign organisation in Abia to highlight his legislative activities and constituency development initiatives.
He listed bills for the establishment of a Federal Institute of Entrepreneurship and Technical Skills Development in Osisioma and a National Sports University at Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa North among his legislative efforts.
The senator also cited youth empowerment programmes, including free training for more than 400 secondary school students in robotics, artificial intelligence and embedded systems engineering.
