The Presidency has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of playing politics with the issue of petrol subsidy, alleging that his position on the policy has been inconsistent ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the allegation in a statement on Wednesday, describing Atiku’s recent comments on subsidy as contradictory and politically motivated.
Onanuga said Nigerians had been given three different explanations within one week about what an Atiku administration would do with petrol subsidy.
According to him, Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, initially said the former vice president would restore the subsidy and eventually phase it out after the economy recovered.
He said another aide, Phrank Shaibu, later dismissed Ibe’s position as unauthorised and misleading, insisting that Atiku would maintain the subsidy until domestic refining capacity increased, fuel supply stabilised and competition ensured affordable prices.
Onanuga said Atiku subsequently intervened personally to reaffirm his intention to restore what he called a “targeted subsidy.”
“This is not merely a matter of semantics. It is a serious policy contradiction and confusion,” Onanuga said.
The presidential aide questioned why Atiku’s aides had issued conflicting explanations if the former vice president’s position had remained unchanged.
He said Nigerians deserved clarity on how the proposed subsidy would operate, including its cost, beneficiaries, funding source and the conditions that would determine its eventual removal.
Onanuga also challenged Atiku’s argument that lower petrol prices would automatically reduce the cost of living, noting that exchange rates, insecurity, agricultural productivity, transportation, storage, flooding and input costs also influence food prices.
He further criticised the proposal to subsidise petrol based on crude oil, arguing that refining crude produces several other petroleum products with different uses and market values.
These, he said, include diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene, lubricants, asphalt and petroleum coke.
“Will Atiku subsidise all these by-products of the barrel as well, since kerosene is used by the underprivileged to cook, and many homes and factories use diesel to power generators and delivery trucks?” he asked.
Onanuga also questioned whether refineries receiving discounted crude would be permitted to retain profits from other refined products while government support was directed specifically at petrol.
He accused Atiku of lacking clarity on the mechanics and financial implications of the proposed policy.
The presidential aide urged the former vice president to present Nigerians with what he described as a clear, coherent and financially sustainable petroleum policy rather than “policy somersaults, incoherence, destructive populism and election gimmicks.”
Onanuga defended the Tinubu administration’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy had strengthened government finances and contributed to macroeconomic stability.
