ABUJA, Nigeria — Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday, August 21, 2026, defended his proposed petroleum-sector intervention model and accused President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, of economic arson, vandalism, and propaganda in his response to the plan.
The statement was issued by Atiku Abubakar’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on behalf of the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate. Okay News reports that Atiku Abubakar rejected claims of economic ignorance from the administration, pointing to the combination of fuel-price increases, exchange-rate shifts, and rising cost-of-living challenges across the country.
Phrank Shaibu quoted Atiku Abubakar as stating: “If economic ignorance had a presidential seal, Tinubu and his family would be its official logo. Here is an administration that detonated simultaneous fuel-price, exchange-rate and cost-of-living shocks across a fragile economy, watched millions become poorer, and now struts around Abuja demanding applause for the wreckage.”
Atiku Abubakar stated that the removal of petrol subsidies was carried out at Eagle Square without a transition plan, leading to increased costs for transportation, food, and manufacturing, alongside the depreciation of the naira. He clarified that his proposed model is a targeted, capped, budgeted, time-bound, and independently audited production-support mechanism tied to domestic production, rather than a return to the former subsidy arrangement.
Addressing the administration’s arguments regarding increased Federation Account Allocation Committee distributions to state governments, Atiku Abubakar said the approach relies on impoverishing households to fund state treasuries. He added that higher allocations create dependency on central funds rather than encouraging states to build productive tax bases or industrial capacity.
Atiku Abubakar also called on the presidency to account for approximately ₦30 trillion ($20 billion USD) in Federation Account revenues, deductions, savings, and transfers, as well as a ₦12.8 trillion ($8.53 billion USD) Service-Wide Vote in the 2026 federal budget.
