BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – As the race for the 2027 presidency quietly heats up, a fierce war of words has erupted over Nigeria’s economic crisis with former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, says President Bola Tinubu’s 30-day petrol discount is an inadequate response to years of economic hardship inflicted on Nigerians
Labeling it a “panic-driven publicity stunt” and an election-laced trap designed to hoodwink voters ahead of the 2027 general elections, Atiku, in a blistering critique of the administration’s economic policies, declared that a brief, one-month concession is utterly insultingly inadequate to offset more than three brutal years of relentless and agonizing hardship that Nigerians have endured daily.
The former Vice President said Nigerians would hold the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration accountable in next year’s general election, insisting that short-term palliatives are far too little, too late, for a population battered by three solid years of grueling economic reforms.
Addressing party men and stakeholders at the inauguration of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja on Friday, Atiku accused Tinubu of adopting the principle behind his proposed production subsidy after previously dismissing it, but failing to implement the policy’s essential safeguards.
“Thirty days cannot erase three and a half years of hardship. Nigerians have heard your excuses and endured your failed promises. They are ready to judge your record,” Atiku said and challenged the President to explain what would happen after the discount expired and whether transport fares and the cost of moving agricultural produce and running businesses would actually fall.
According to him, “When I proposed targeted support to ease fuel costs, you called me ignorant of economic policy. Your government said it could not be done. Now, in a desperate and clumsy retreat, you have shamelessly embraced the principle you mocked. You owe me an apology”, adding that his proposal would support petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold locally, with government assistance capped, budgeted and independently audited, while excluding imported products.
“My alternative is clear. Support petroleum products actually refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians. Cap the support. Put it in the budget. Audit it independently. Exclude imports. Show the public what it costs and what they save,” he said.
The ADC flag-bearer warned citizens to look past the “calendar-scheduled” gesture, demanding systemic structural solutions, permanent price reductions on locally refined petroleum, and sweeping electoral reforms instead of short-term political theater.
Further arguing that true economic recovery is measured solely by household welfare, Atiku demanded a comprehensive agenda to slash food costs, stabilize the power grid, spark job growth, expand commerce, and guarantee the security of critical infrastructure and farmlands.
For the ADC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Atiku said its mandate must focus on a grassroots offensive across markets, transportation hubs, agricultural sectors, and academic institutions, urging the members to articulate the ADC’s policy framework while providing a transparent, fully funded roadmap for execution.
Ultimately, the ADC standard-bearer cast the 2027 election as an urgent crusade for the well-being of Nigerian families, calling on the electorate to mobilize a decisive movement behind the opposition, cautioning that, “Another four years of Bola Tinubu means another four years of hunger, hardship and national decline.”
On protecting the sanctity of electoral votes, Atiku called for electoral reform that covers immediate public access to polling-unit data, live-streamed collation centers, and rigorous, independent audits of election technology both before and after voting.
For him, there must be zero tolerance for malpractice, just as he canvassed for an independent commission dedicated to prosecuting electoral offenders alongside crushing penalties for anyone caught tampering with results, suppressing votes, or committing fraud.
Going further to accuse the APC-led administration of systematically muzzling the opposition, the ADC candidate cited a recent, heavy-handed attempt to shut down an opposition campaign in Benue State, maintaining that:“There will be no ‘no-go’ areas in Nigeria. Opposition members are citizens with the constitutional right to move freely, express their views and campaign anywhere in the country.”
While promising that ADC would campaign across the country and resist attempts to prevent its candidates from reaching voters, he said the party would defend its rights through lawful means and challenged the President to resign considering his administration’s embarrassing record in handling the nation’s economy.
He also descended heavily on the administration’s “pain management” rhetoric, the former Vice President said: “After this latest admission of failure, the honourable thing to do is step down. Nigerians deserve a government that will do the work and make life affordable again.”
