…Warns against Removal of Electricity Subsidy
The 2027 African Democratic Congress Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called for President Bola Tinubu’s intervention on the recent hike in price of petrol across the country while warning against the planned removal of electricity subsidy.
Atiku harped on the need for Tinubu to relieve Nigerians of the current hardship as he maintained that the country is still largely affected by his removal of fuel subsidy.
The ADC presidential candidate made this known during a national broadcast delivered on Friday.
In his address, he highlighted how the fuel subsidy removal had widely affected Nigeria’s economic sector with severe impact on households.
‘Since May 29, 2023, Nigerians have lived with the consequences of the removal of petrol subsidy without adequate protection for families, workers, farmers and businesses during the transition.
‘For more than three years, that burden has travelled from the petrol station to the bus stop, from the bus stop to the market, and from the market to the family dining table.
‘When petrol becomes expensive, transportation becomes expensive. When transportation becomes expensive, food becomes expensive.
‘Farmers pay more to move produce. Traders pay more to stock their shops. Workers pay more to get to work. Businesses pay more for logistics and energy.
‘In the end, the Nigerian family receives the bill. When government makes energy expensive, it makes life expensive. This is no longer an argument between economists. It is the daily reality of millions of Nigerians.
‘These are the real tests of an economic policy. When I first argued that government should review its approach to the withdrawal of petrol subsidy and consider responsible intervention to bring down the cost of fuel, Mr. Bola Tinubu dismissed my proposal as demonstrating “serious ignorance” of governance and the economy.’ He said.
Atiku recalled the outcry of the Nigerian Labour Congress over the cost of workers’ transportation as well as the outcry of petrol marketers and manufaturers.
‘My dear Bola, events since then have raised a simple question. Is the Nigeria Labour Congress also ignorant when it calls for urgent intervention to cushion workers from rising petrol prices?
‘Are petroleum marketers ignorant when they call for policies that strengthen domestic refining and help moderate pump prices?
‘Are Nigerian manufacturers ignorant when they warn that power-related expenses now consume more than half of operating costs?
‘And are the millions of Nigerians crying out because they can no longer afford transportation, food and other basic necessities also ignorant?
‘When workers, producers, marketers and ordinary families are all raising the alarm, government must listen.
‘If everybody who questions your policy is ignorant, while only the President is presumed to be wise, then we have a leadership problem on our hands.
‘Leadership requires the humility to confront the consequences of policy and the courage to change course.’ He said.
Atiku maintained that production costs are rising across several factories while unsold goods pile up in warehouses.
He decried the struggle manufacturers to keep producing as families struggle to afford what they produce.
‘The goods are there. The need is there. What is missing is the purchasing power. Government celebrates GDP growth, higher revenues and bigger allocations.
‘But Nigerians judge the economy by what their money can buy. If government receives more naira while the citizen’s naira buys less food, less fuel, less electricity and less transportation, then bigger government revenues mean little to the family struggling to survive.’ He said.
The former Vice President held that economic growth must enter the home, market basket, and must show up in the purchasing power of the worker.
He advised Tinubu to use the remain eight months of his tenure to give Nigerians relief.
He charged him to do what is necessary to lower the price of petrol irrespective of where the advise comes from an opposition figure.
‘Bola Tinubu should not be ashamed to do what is necessary to lower the price of petrol simply because Atiku Abubakar proposed a government intervention.
‘He should just take the idea. Rename it if he wishes And even take the credit. What matters to me is that, Nigerians pay less.
‘A sensible idea does not become a bad idea because it came from your opponent.’ He said.
Atiku noted that when energy becomes unaffordable, everything becomes unaffordable.
Read Also:Atiku’s subsidy campaign is a return to fuel queues, cancelation of minimum wage-APC Chairman
He charged Tinubu to use the remaining eight month reduce the burden on Nigerians as he expressed readiness to assist the government with policy ideas.
‘The President should know that eight months may sound short inside Aso Rock. But eight months is a very long time when you are living from hand to mouth. Use that time to reduce the burden on Nigerians.
‘And if your government requires policy ideas or technical input on how to bring relief, I am prepared to make mine available.
‘Nigerians do not have to wait for another administration before they benefit from an idea that can help them today. If you need the framework, I will provide it. Implement it under your government.
‘Give it whatever name you choose. Take the credit.
‘I ask for only one thing: Let Nigerians breathe. I am prepared to compete with you politically. But I will never compete with the welfare of the Nigerian people.’ He said
