Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s description of his proposed intervention in the petroleum sector as economically ignorant, stating that the administration’s policies have worsened the cost-of-living crisis despite increased government revenues.

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Atiku, in a statement issued on his behalf by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Friday, said the President was in no position to lecture Nigerians on economic management after the removal of petrol subsidy, the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market and the subsequent rise in inflation, transport costs and household expenses.

The ADC presidential candidate had on Wednesday declared that he would return the fuel subsidy.

“If elected, I will bring back the oil subsidy, and whoever stole the money must refund it,” he said.

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However, Tinubu rejected Atiku’s proposal, describing the former vice president as ignorant of economy management.

That is a “demonstration of serious ignorance on governance and economy,” Tinubu said while speaking with Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke at the Aso Rock Villa on Thursday.

But defending his proposal, Atiku said, “The real ignorance is believing suffering is economic policy. Tinubu removed the subsidy from Nigerians’ pockets, but he is yet to remove the questions from his books.”

The former vice president said his proposal was not a return to the subsidy regime that preceded the Tinubu administration, but a targeted and temporary production-support mechanism designed to increase domestic refining and protect consumers from excessive price shocks.

He said the economic circumstances confronting Nigerians had changed substantially since Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023, making it necessary to reassess existing policy prescriptions.

“Economic prescriptions respond to prevailing conditions. But other things are no longer equal in Tinubu’s Nigeria,” Atiku said.

📰 Source: Punch Nigeria