Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of deflecting attention from Nigeria’s worsening cost-of-living crisis by attacking his economic proposals.

In a statement issued Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Tinubu’s recent comments on X concentrated on his proposal to reduce energy costs rather than addressing the hardship confronting millions of Nigerians.

“Bola, Nigerians know exactly whose policy you were attacking. You were responding to Atiku Abubakar because he has chosen to stand with millions of Nigerians being crushed by the cost-of-living crisis,” Shaibu said.

The statement followed Tinubu’s criticism of Atiku’s proposal to reduce energy costs and his rejection of any return to the fuel subsidy regime.

Shaibu said Atiku was more concerned about the difficulties facing ordinary Nigerians than engaging the President in a personal exchange.

“Atiku has more important people to engage directly: the mother struggling to feed her children; the civil servant whose salary disappears into transportation; the farmer paying more to move produce to market; the student being pushed into debt simply to remain in school,” Shaibu said.

He also questioned Tinubu’s promise that his administration would soon reduce transportation costs, increase food production and provide relief to vulnerable Nigerians.

According to Shaibu, the promise appeared inconsistent with the government’s earlier position that the hardship triggered by fuel subsidy removal was an unavoidable consequence of its economic reforms.

“Why did Nigerians have to suffer for more than three years before your government discovered that economic growth must reach ‘the dining table and the pocket’?” he asked.

The ADC candidate also faulted Nigeria’s current petrol price, arguing that Nigerians pay more for fuel than citizens in several oil-producing countries despite having lower income levels.

The statement compared Nigeria’s estimated ₦1,400 per litre petrol price with prices in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria, Angola and the United Arab Emirates.

Shaibu said the high cost of petrol had severely eroded the purchasing power of the ₦70,000 minimum wage, noting that purchasing 40 litres at ₦1,400 would cost ₦56,000, representing about 80 per cent of a worker’s monthly wage.

He added that expensive fuel had raised transportation and production costs across agriculture, manufacturing and food distribution, contributing to higher consumer prices.

Atiku’s proposed Atiku Economic Recovery Plan (AERP), the statement said, seeks to reduce energy costs through targeted support for Nigerian crude supplied to domestic refineries under a transparent and independently audited framework.

The plan would also provide for crude tracking, monitoring of refined petroleum products and mechanisms to ensure that resulting savings are transferred to consumers.

On education, Shaibu criticised the Tinubu administration’s reliance on NELFUND, arguing that students should not be forced into debt to access education.

He said Atiku would review the student loan scheme if elected, including possible debt forgiveness for qualifying beneficiaries.

The ADC also called for greater transparency over revenue generated through the removal of fuel subsidies and other fiscal measures.

Shaibu said the government had claimed that subsidy removal generated about ₦15.8 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025, challenging the administration to provide evidence of how the funds had translated into improved living conditions for Nigerians.

He also renewed calls for reconciliation of about ₦30 trillion in Federation Account revenues, deductions, savings and transfers, alongside disclosure of the beneficiaries of ₦34 trillion in Import Duty Exemption Certificates approved in 2025.

“If our reconciliation is wrong, publish the complete ledger and establish the facts,” he said.

Shaibu accused the Tinubu administration of introducing relief measures as the 2027 election approaches, describing the promised interventions as “a temporary dose of political anaesthesia.”

He maintained that Atiku would remain focused on policies aimed at reducing the cost of living rather than engaging Tinubu in personal exchanges.