Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has stated that the latest SBM Intelligence survey reveals that Nigerians have overwhelmingly rejected President Bola Tinubu's fuel policy. According to the survey, 67.4% of respondents want the petrol subsidy restored. Atiku described this finding as a damning public verdict on the administration's decision to remove the subsidy without a plan, condemning millions of Nigerians to unprecedented hardship.
Atiku emphasized that the survey's results represent a growing majority of Nigerians who have rejected Tinubu's economic philosophy. He stated that the policy has caused far more harm than good, with transport costs exploding, food prices soaring, businesses collapsing, and purchasing power being destroyed. The former Vice President noted that the survey is not merely about economic policy but has become a democratic question, with an overwhelming majority of Nigerians declaring that the government policy is destroying their lives.
The survey revealed that petrol has become the second-most cited national problem and the Tinubu administration's worst-rated policy issue, scoring a miserable 1.69 out of four. Atiku highlighted that the suffering caused by Tinubu's fuel policy cuts across geography, ethnicity, and political affiliation. He noted that 32.4% of rural respondents identified petrol as their primary concern, compared with 11.7% in urban areas.
Atiku criticized President Tinubu for removing the subsidy without a credible plan for domestic refining, mass transportation, wage protection, or support for small businesses that depend on affordable energy. He stated that the administration could no longer hide behind manipulated statistics, propaganda, and exaggerated claims about its CNG programme while Nigerians continued to pay unbearable prices for petrol and transportation.
The former Vice President proposed an alternative vision of a government that protects its citizens rather than abandons them to the cruelties of the market. He described his proposed intervention, which would introduce a transparent production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians. Atiku emphasized that this programme would have a fixed spending limit, National Assembly approval, and independent audits.
Atiku called on President Tinubu to stop pretending that the suffering of Nigerians was an unavoidable price of reform and provide immediate relief during his remaining months in office. He stated that the people have spoken, and the 67.4% is a vote against Tinubu's cruelty and a mandate for Atiku's alternative. Atiku concluded that Tinubu made life expensive, and he would make life affordable again.
Atiku's proposed policy aims to reduce fuel prices, strengthen domestic refining, create Nigerian jobs, and restore the purchasing power that the current administration has destroyed. He reiterated that his policy would not revive the corrupt and opaque subsidy regime of the past but rather provide a transparent and accountable solution to the current economic challenges facing Nigerians.
Key points
- 67.4% of Nigerians want petrol subsidy restored
- Atiku Abubakar proposes a transparent production subsidy for petroleum products
- Atiku calls on President Tinubu to provide immediate relief to Nigerians
