Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has tackled the Federal Government over the payment of the fuel subsidy.
In a statement issued via his verified X account on Wednesday, the former vice president expressed shock and concern that the government is still supporting downstream consumption.
Atiku’s comment comes hours after the FG admitted that fuel subsidy expenditures are expected to surge to ₦5.4 trillion in 2024.
The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, made this known on Tuesday during the presentation of the Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP) to President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
Atiku stated that despite the announcement of the abolishment of the fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, the Tinubu government is still paying under the cover without the knowledge of Nigerians.
He said: “President Bola Tinubu, at his inauguration on May 29, 2023, announced the abolishment of the subsidy on PMS, popularly known as fuel. Ever since it has been a bragging right of Tinubu and officials of his administration.
“I had in my statement reviewing the one year of the Bola Tinubu administration urged the government to come clean on the actual position of the subsidy policy.
“If the subsidy regime had been characterised by opaqueness, what would we say of a situation where the subsidy is still being paid under the cover without Nigerians in the know?
“Like millions of Nigerians, I was shocked to learn through media reports that the “government is still supporting downstream consumption.”
The former vice president accused the Federal Government of paying for fuel subsidies and lying about it, saying that Nigerians deserve better than deception.
He concluded: “Now we know that expenditure on fuel subsidy may reach N5.4 trillion in 2024, compared to the N3.6 trillion spent in 2023, the same year that Tinubu claimed to have abolished fuel subsidy.
“I wish to restate that Nigeria is not working, and what we have had in a little over a year is a cocktail of trial-and-error economic policies. Paying subsidies and lying about it is nothing to brag about. Nigerians deserve better than this deception.”
