Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has rejected the Federal Government's proposed 30-day fuel discount at NNPC retail outlets, describing the intervention as a temporary measure that will not deliver lasting relief from elevated petrol, transport and food costs.
The position was outlined in a statement issued on Thursday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council. It followed the government's announcement of a 30-day margin discount on petrol dispensed by NNPC Limited, with priority given to public transporters, as part of broader efforts to cushion Nigerians from higher fuel prices.
Atiku argued that the discount is too narrow and too short to address the hardship linked to the removal of petrol subsidy. He questioned what would happen after the window closes, maintaining that households would return to the same pump prices, transport fares and food costs once the intervention expires.
"What happens on Day 31? Nigerians wake up to the same brutal prices, the same punishing transport fares and the same rising cost of food. The government cannot manufacture relief for one month and expect Nigerians to applaud while the hardship remains," Atiku said.
He added: "Nigerians need lasting relief, not a countdown to the return of hardship. Tinubu's government cannot spend years telling Nigerians to endure, then offer 30 days of relief and call it a solution."
Atiku also faulted the scope of the measure, noting that the discount would apply only at NNPC stations. He said the government had not disclosed how much motorists would save per litre or guaranteed that savings captured by transport operators would be passed to passengers through lower fares.
The former Vice President described the move as a political response to hardship and linked it to his earlier proposal for capped, budgeted production support tied to petrol refined in Nigeria. "This volte-face proves that the production-support proposal I have advanced is workable, achievable and not complicated," he said.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele said the discount would run for 30 days with priority for public transporters nationwide. He framed it as a margin discount rather than a return to the petrol subsidy regime, adding that petrol would be sold at cost during the period.
