The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s approach to fuel subsidy removal without provision for palliative measures.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022 maintained the determination to remove fuel subsidy, hence, there was no provision for fuel subsidy in the 2023 appropriation bill.
The fuel subsidy removal received the backing of Tinubu, Atiku, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party and several other 2023 presidential candidates, who sought to end the regime if elected, and on May 29th during his inaugural speech, Tinubu declared that “fuel subsidy is gone”.
Tinubu’s announcement has since generated floods of both criticisms and praises while Nigerians have been thrown into hardship with the automatic fuel price hike across the country.
But addressing newly elected PDP officials on Saturday in Bauchi State, Atiku who has served as the Vice President of Nigeria criticised Tinubu’s decision on the subsidy removal.
Channels TV quoted Atiku as saying that “Between 1999 and 2007, the PDP government initiated the petroleum subsidy removal and I chaired the committee. We achieved subsidy removal in two phases but only after providing palliatives to those most affected by the subsidy removal,” the former Vice President said.
“We have the experience as a party in government. That is what we would have done and not just announced subsidy removal without discussion with the affected sectors of the economy. I think Nigerians should appreciate what they have temporarily lost.”
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