Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of economic hypocrisy over its handling of fuel subsidy and incentives for petroleum investors.
Atiku, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described the government’s celebration of subsidy removal as “one of the biggest economic frauds” being sold to Nigerians.
He argued that the administration could not claim to have abolished subsidy while simultaneously granting tax credits, concessions and other fiscal incentives to operators in the petroleum sector.
According to Atiku, the government has subjected Nigerian households to rising fuel, transport and food costs in the name of market reforms, while offering major oil investors incentives to reduce investment risks.
He specifically cited the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives framework, under which, he said, qualifying petroleum developments could receive production tax credits of $3 or $4.50 per barrel, with supplementary credits potentially raising the combined benefit to as much as $11.50 per barrel in qualifying circumstances.
“So, what exactly is Tinubu’s objection: government intervention itself, or government intervention for Nigerians?” Atiku asked.
He also questioned the government’s position on subsidy, citing NNPC’s reported energy-security expenses and related shortfalls of about ₦4.84 trillion in 2023 and ₦7.13 trillion in 2024.
Atiku argued that the figures showed that government resources were still being used to bridge the gap between the economic cost of petrol and regulated prices, despite Tinubu’s declaration that fuel subsidy had ended.
“Whether government calls it subsidy, under-recovery, shortfall or energy security, public resources were being used to bridge a gap between economic cost and the price at which petrol was sold,” he said.
The former vice president accused the administration of operating what he described as “two economies” — one offering incentives and protection to large investors and another leaving ordinary Nigerians to bear the full impact of economic shocks.
He said his proposed Atiku Economic Recovery Plan was not a return to an unlimited or opaque subsidy regime, but a targeted and temporary intervention designed to cushion households while broader reforms take effect.
According to him, the proposal would be capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited, with a defined exit mechanism. He also listed accelerated domestic refining, increased competition, mass transportation and measures to restore household purchasing power as key components of the plan.
Atiku said he supports foreign and domestic investment as well as transparent, performance-based incentives for investors, but rejected what he described as a double standard in the application of government intervention.
“You cannot subsidise capital and criminalise relief for citizens. You cannot offer cushions upstairs and call suffering downstairs reform,” he said.
