Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to explain why petrol remains significantly cheaper in several oil-producing countries than in Nigeria.

Atiku accused the Federal Government of presiding over an economic system that has made life increasingly unaffordable for millions of Nigerians, saying the central issue was the worsening cost-of-living crisis rather than his political differences with the president.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku was responding to recent remarks by Tinubu in which the president criticised his economic proposals without directly mentioning his name.

According to Atiku, the president devoted considerable attention to attacking his proposals while claiming he would not “dignify” opposition leaders by naming them.

The former vice president argued that petrol should not be a luxury in an oil-producing country, stressing that the ultimate measure of economic policy should be whether ordinary citizens can afford transportation, food, education, healthcare and other basic necessities.

He questioned why Nigerians were paying about N1,400 per litre for petrol when consumers in several oil-producing countries pay considerably less.

Atiku cited petrol prices of about N778 per litre in Saudi Arabia, N872 in Kuwait, N475 in Algeria and N441 in Angola. He also noted that petrol prices in the United Arab Emirates remained below Nigeria’s despite the country having a significantly higher average income.

“These countries did not conclude that oil production requires punishing citizens at the pump. In different ways, they have used their natural-resource advantage to moderate the energy burden on their people,” Atiku said.

He argued that Nigeria had instead turned its oil wealth into an economic burden for citizens, despite Nigerians earning less and facing higher living costs.

Atiku also highlighted Libya, saying the country sells petrol at roughly N34 per litre despite years of political instability, while Nigeria sells at about N1,400 per litre.

He further illustrated the impact of high fuel prices on low-income earners, noting that a worker earning the N70,000 statutory minimum wage would need about N56,000 to purchase 40 litres of petrol at N1,400 per litre.

“That means 80 per cent of an entire month’s minimum wage would be spent on 40 litres of petrol,” he said, adding that the worker would still have to meet expenses for food, rent, electricity, school fees and healthcare.

According to Atiku, high petrol prices are contributing significantly to inflation because transportation and energy costs are repeatedly incorporated into the prices of agricultural produce, manufactured goods and other essential commodities.

He said his proposed Atiku Economic Recovery Plan (AERP) would seek to reduce energy costs at source through targeted support for Nigerian crude supplied to domestic refineries under a capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited framework.

He added that crude oil and refined products would be tracked under the proposal, while a consumer pass-through obligation would be introduced to ensure that the benefits of the intervention reach Nigerians at the pump.

“The economics is straightforward. Reduce fuel costs and you reduce pressure on transportation. Reduce transportation costs and you reduce the cost of moving tomatoes, rice, yam, livestock and manufactured goods,” Atiku said.

“Reduce those costs and more of a worker’s income remains available for food, rent, education and healthcare. That is structural relief.”

The ADC presidential candidate also rejected claims that a targeted intervention to reduce fuel costs could undermine the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), workers’ salaries or the minimum wage.

He described such arguments as “fearmongering dressed up as economics” and argued that student loans should not be presented as evidence that education had become affordable.

“Celebrating NELFUND as proof that education has become affordable under your government is like setting school fees on fire and then boasting that you lent students a bucket of water,” he said.

Atiku maintained that student loans were liabilities rather than scholarships, arguing that the real test of education policy was whether ordinary families could educate their children without going into debt.

He said his proposed economic approach would focus on reducing the underlying costs confronting students and families, while also reviewing existing student debt arrangements.

Atiku also challenged the Federal Government to provide a comprehensive account of the revenues and savings generated by the removal of petrol subsidy.

According to his statement, the Federal Government had said subsidy removal mobilised about N15.8 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025, while Nigerians had endured higher transportation and food costs alongside a decline in the purchasing power of their wages.

He further renewed his call for a comprehensive reconciliation of nearly N30 trillion reportedly identified across Federation Account revenues, deductions, savings, transfers and related entries.

The former vice president also demanded greater transparency over Import Duty Exemption Certificate approvals covering imports reportedly valued at about N34 trillion in 2025.

“Nigerians deserve to know who benefited, the values attached to those exemptions, their legal basis and the measurable public benefit they delivered,” he said.

Atiku also questioned the timing of the Federal Government’s latest promises of economic relief, suggesting that the measures were coming after years of hardship and as political activities ahead of the 2027 general election intensify.

“After more than three years of hardship, Nigerians are now being offered a temporary dose of political anaesthesia as 2027 approaches. God forbid that Nigerians should mistake election-season relief for economic recovery,” he said.

The ADC presidential candidate maintained that his focus was on restoring affordability and improving the purchasing power of Nigerians rather than engaging in personal exchanges with the president.

He called on the Tinubu administration to provide Nigerians with clear answers on how the funds reportedly generated from petrol subsidy removal had been utilised, reconcile outstanding Federation Account figures and disclose the beneficiaries and public benefits associated with the import duty exemptions.