The 2027 African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has launched a sharp attack on President Bola Tinubu's economic management, accusing him of draining household income and pushing both businesses and ordinary Nigerians into severe financial difficulty. Atiku's statement, released on September 6, 2026, outlines a Production Subsidy proposal aimed at supporting domestic refining and reducing costs at the pump, as fuel prices have skyrocketed under Tinubu's watch.
Price Increases Under Tinubu
Phrank Shaibu, Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, said Tinubu could not hide behind favourable economic data released in Abuja when the lived reality for most Nigerians told a different story. He pointed to the removal of the fuel subsidy, the steep rise in fuel and food prices, and the weakening of the naira as direct consequences of decisions made under Tinubu's administration.
Atiku listed specific price movements to make his case. Fertiliser, he said, had risen from about N9,000 to around N50,000. Petrol moved from about N199 to around N1,400 per litre. The former Vice President said cement went from roughly N4,000 to about N13,500 a bag, and the dollar exchange rate climbed from around N450 to about N1,400.
Impact on Ordinary Nigerians
"Nigerians know the prices they meet every day," Atiku said in the statement. "And after all this pain, what has the ordinary Nigerian received? No reliable electricity. Loan for a degree. No security. No N-Power. Food is expensive. Transport is expensive. Life itself has become expensive."
He used the example of a woman selling frozen food in Kubwa to illustrate how rising costs ripple through local economies: higher transport and power costs eat into her margins, her customers buy less or request credit, and the strain eventually spreads to her suppliers.
Atiku Pushes Production Subsidy
The statement also served as a defence of Atiku's proposed Production Subsidy, which he described as a policy designed to support domestic refining, increase local supply, and bring down costs at the pump. He cited the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), which has called for support for domestic refining, as well as energy production policies under US President Donald Trump, as evidence that backing strategic production was sound economic thinking.
Atiku questioned why similar support for ordinary Nigerians was being dismissed by Tinubu's government when waivers, incentives, and concessions were routinely extended to multinational oil firms and businesses with close ties to the administration. "So why does intervention suddenly become bad economics when ordinary Nigerians are meant to benefit?" he asked.
He closed by calling on Nigerians to reject what he described as an economy that takes from its people and support a plan centred on local production, job creation, and reduced living costs.
Diaspora Group Slams Atiku
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that the Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group USA Chapter accused Atiku Abubakar of running a lobbying campaign in Washington to discredit President Tinubu. The group said the 1993 US documents being circulated were from a civil forfeiture case, not a criminal conviction, and were being deliberately misrepresented. NDMG warned the campaign could damage the reputation of millions of Nigerians living and working abroad.
