Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has defended his proposal to review the removal of fuel subsidy, after President Bola Tinubu criticised the idea.
Tinubu had described Atiku’s promise to restore subsidy as evidence of “serious ignorance” of governance and the economy.
The President made the comment on Thursday while receiving Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
But Atiku, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, rejected the criticism and accused the Tinubu administration of worsening economic hardship.
Shaibu said the removal of subsidy and changes in the foreign exchange market had pushed up fuel, transport and production costs.
He said Atiku was not proposing a return to the old subsidy system, but a limited and transparent support programme linked to local fuel production.
According to him, the proposed scheme would have a clear budget, time limit and independent monitoring to prevent abuse.
Atiku also questioned the claim that subsidy had been fully removed, pointing to reported energy-security costs and petroleum under-recoveries in the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
He said the higher revenue going to governments through the Federation Account should not come at the expense of struggling households.
“You do not build a federation by impoverishing citizens so that Abuja can send bigger cheques to governors,” Atiku said.
He maintained that economic policies should be adjusted when they worsen the living conditions of citizens, saying his proposal was aimed at reducing the pressure of rising fuel and living costs.