PHOTO CREDIT: The Sun Nigeria / Atiku Abubakar Media Office
Atiku Tells Tinubu to Quit 2027 Race or Risk Defeat at Polls
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has told President Bola Tinubu to either withdraw from the 2027 presidential election or be ready to be voted out.

Atiku, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, also demanded an apology from the President for dismissing his production-linked fuel subsidy proposal.

He said his demand followed the call by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for the Federal Government to support local refiners in order to bring down petrol prices, a position he said vindicates his own proposal.

Atiku had recently proposed a production-linked subsidy if elected in 2027, arguing it would reduce the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). The Presidency had dismissed the idea as economic ignorance, insisting the subsidy regime removed by Tinubu in 2023 should not return.

Atiku, however, said his plan is different from the old import-based subsidy and is aimed at strengthening domestic refining in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.

According to him: “IPMAN has come late to this conversation, but it has come to the right conclusion… That is precisely the policy principle President Tinubu and his gang of jesters have spent weeks trying to ridicule”.

He explained that subsidizing domestic refining is like processing cassava at home instead of selling it cheap and buying expensive garri elsewhere, adding that his principle is “subsidy follows the barrel”.

Atiku further argued that the real test of fuel policy is not the dollar price of petrol but how many hours Nigerians must work to afford it, citing the DailyFuels Fuel Affordability Index which ranked Nigeria 91st, with an average Nigerian needing 44 minutes of work to buy one litre of petrol.

He urged IPMAN to join efforts to build a transparent support system for local refining ahead of 2027, and said President Tinubu now has two options: to apologise for ridiculing his policy and quietly withdraw from the 2027 contest, or wait to be rejected at the polls.
“This is not about Tinubu or Atiku. It is about Nigerians. You cannot empty their pockets, call it reform, ridicule the ideas intended to make their lives affordable and then ask them to reward you with another four years,” Atiku said.
SOURCE: The Sun Nigeria