Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his defence of the removal of the petrol subsidy, describing the president as the source of the economic hardship Nigerians are struggling to escape.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said Tinubu’s comparison of calls for fuel subsidy relief to asking Moses to return to Egypt showed “how little he understands the suffering of Nigerians”.
In a statement issued on his behalf by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku accused Tinubu of celebrating the removal of petrol subsidy without adequately addressing its impact on the cost of living.
He said Tinubu’s decision to remove the subsidy on his first day in office was being presented as a political achievement despite the economic difficulties faced by households and businesses.
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“Bola, you are the Egypt Nigerians are desperate to escape. 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.”
Atiku further accused the president of being insensitive to the hardship caused by rising transportation costs, food prices and the difficulties businesses face in accessing electricity.
“At least Pharaoh knew he was holding people captive. Tinubu watches families cut meals, workers spend their salaries on transport, and businesses struggle to keep their lights on, then tells them a story about Moses. He may quote scripture, but he governs like Pharaoh, Herod and Ahab combined: deaf to the cries of the people, proud of the hardship he has imposed and convinced that power excuses him from answering for it.
“Bola, 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.
“I will make life affordable again through practical relief Nigerians can feel. My proposal is clear: give limited, budgeted support only to verified petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians. Imported fuel gets nothing. Independent auditors must track every naira, and the benefit must be reflected in the price consumers pay. If it does not lower that price, it has failed its purpose.”
The former vice-president also faulted Tinubu’s administration over insecurity, insisting that the president must take responsibility for the security challenges facing the country rather than blame his predecessor.
He criticised the defence reportedly offered by Tinubu’s campaign Director-General, who questioned what the president could do about insecurity when former President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired general, could not eliminate the problem.
Atiku countered by citing the administration of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as an example of leadership that, according to him, demonstrated the capacity to tackle insecurity.
“But hardship is not the only captivity Nigerians face. Tinubu’s failure on security cannot be buried under Buhari’s record. He asked Nigerians for the presidency knowing that communities were under attack, families were paying ransom and children were afraid to travel to school. He took the oath to protect them. Yet his own campaign Director-General asks, ‘What do you expect Tinubu to do when even Buhari, a general, could not wipe out insecurity?’ Let me remind them that President Yar’Adua was not a sergeant, yet he stamped it out.
“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.”
Atiku also raised concerns about the welfare of serving and retired police officers, alleging that some personnel were struggling financially despite their responsibility to protect Nigerians.
He cited the case of a retired Assistant Superintendent of Police who reportedly told him he received a monthly pension of ₦29,000.
The ADC presidential candidate further alleged that some serving police officers were drawing on their pension savings to meet their families’ needs.
“And look at what Tinubu asks of the officers sent to protect us. A retired Assistant Superintendent told me he receives ₦29,000 a month. Serving officers are drawing down 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?
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“Bola, answer the retired officers asking for a pension they can live on. Act on the Police Exit Bill and review serving officers’ salaries, as was done for members of the Armed Forces. Give the people who protect Nigerians the pay, healthcare and retirement security their service has earned.”
Atiku concluded by accusing Tinubu of failing to address the economic and security concerns of Nigerians, insisting that the country needed practical measures to reduce the cost of living and improve public safety.
“Stop pointing to Egypt as though it lies behind us. For millions of Nigerians, Egypt is the hunger, fear and indignity they are living through under you. They deserve affordable fuel, safe communities and police officers who can serve without sacrificing their families’ future. Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again.”
