The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Tinubu administration’s newly announced 30-day petrol discount at NNPC retail stations, describing it as “too little, too selective and too political.”
In a statement issued by the Atiku Media Office on Thursday, October 8, 2026, Atiku said the policy exposes contradictions in the government’s handling of fuel subsidy.
The Presidency had announced a 30-day discounted petrol sale at NNPC outlets as part of measures to cushion hardship.
Atiku said the move contradicts the government’s earlier stance that subsidy was gone for good. He recalled that when he proposed a transparent, production-based subsidy to make locally refined petrol affordable, the administration dismissed it as reckless.
“What has changed: the economic realities or the approach of the 2027 general elections?” the statement queried.
The former VP raised three questions about the policy.
First, on accessibility, he noted that NNPC Retail has just over 900 outlets nationwide, an average of about 25 per state and the FCT. He asked what happens to Nigerians in communities without NNPC stations.
He cited NNPC’s own July 2026 report which placed petrol availability across its retail network at just 52 per cent, questioning how the same network would deliver nationwide relief.
Second, he challenged Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele’s claim that the intervention is not a subsidy or price control. He argued that government is negotiating a price ceiling and allowing refiners and importers to recover shortfalls later.
“Who ultimately bears that shortfall? How will it be recovered? Will public resources, NNPC revenues or future consumers carry the burden?” he asked.
Third, Atiku said Nigerians need permanently affordable petrol, not a 30-day election-season discount.
He reiterated his production-based subsidy proposal, which he said supports domestic refining through transparent crude-pricing arrangements to ensure lower production costs translate into lower pump prices.
The statement also linked the announcement to comments made by Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Policy Communication, who admitted on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday that the administration’s reforms had pushed more Nigerians into poverty.
“When even the President’s own adviser acknowledges that government policies have pushed Nigerians deeper into poverty, it becomes indefensible to continue treating those policies as untouchable,” Atiku said.
He challenged the administration to publish details of the price modulation, financial implications, participating outlets, and how it would translate to lower transport fares and food prices.
“Policies are made for the welfare of people. People are not created to suffer for the sake of policies,” the statement said.
