Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount at NNPC stations, describing it as a temporary measure that does not address the rising cost of living.
Atiku spoke on Friday at the inauguration of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
He said Nigerians had faced rising costs of food, transportation, business operations and farming over the past three years and were ready to demand better governance.
According to him, the announcement of a 30-day discount, with priority for public transport operators, came as the election approached, after the government had earlier dismissed his proposal for targeted support to ease fuel costs.
“When I proposed targeted support to ease fuel costs, your government said it could not be done. Now you have embraced principle you mocked. You owe me apology. But more importantly, you owe Nigerians answer: what happens on day 31?” he said.
Atiku said his proposal involved a production subsidy designed to provide lasting and targeted relief, unlike the temporary palliative offered through the 30-day discount.
He argued that families, transporters and businesses could not plan around short-term relief, adding that Nigerians needed a sustainable solution through a well-designed production subsidy that would support local refining and lower fuel costs.
He recalled that during his State of the Nation address on September 18, 2026, he had offered to share his economic relief plan with the Federal Government.
Atiku said his proposed alternative was to support petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians. He said the support would be capped, included in the budget and independently audited, with imported products excluded. He added that the government should make public the cost of the intervention and the savings to consumers.
He said fuel was only one aspect of the country’s economic challenges, adding that food affordability, reliable electricity, job creation, the security of roads and farms, and the removal of obstacles facing young Nigerians also required attention.
On the campaign council, Atiku said members had a responsibility to take the campaign to every market, motor park, farm, campus and street, listen to Nigerians and explain the party’s plans.https://490cb9ac79d1f2fd9697e8193085f6bf.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-45/html/container.html
He urged council members to approach the assignment with seriousness, urgency and passion, noting that the January 16 election would determine the welfare and future of families.
Atiku also called on Nigerians to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and participate in the election, saying the ballot was an instrument for deciding whether life would become affordable again.
He called for transparency in the electoral process, saying accredited party agents, civil society organisations and observers should be allowed to independently verify results and operate situation rooms.
He demanded reforms to ensure polling-unit results were published immediately, protect the legal right of parties and observers to verify results, broadcast state and national collation centres live, conduct independent audits of election technology, and impose penalties for vote suppression and electoral fraud.
The ADC presidential candidate also said opposition parties should be allowed to campaign freely across the country, insisting that there should be no no-go areas for the opposition.
“Thirty days cannot erase three and a half years of hardship. Nigerians have heard excuses and endured failed promises. They are ready to judge record,” he said.
Primaries over, focus on winning election, Amaechi tells ADC aspirants
Former Rivers State Governor and ADC vice-presidential candidate, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, has urged aspirants who contested the party’s primaries to close ranks and work towards its victory in the 2027 general elections.
He said the period of disagreements over the primaries had ended and members should now concentrate on the general election.
“If you are still quarrelling about primaries, that one is over. Let us concentrate on the election,” he said.
Amaechi said the party had won the argument over fuel subsidy, arguing that the Federal Government’s announcement of a 30-day petrol discount amounted to an admission that its approach had been mistaken.
He said the ADC’s economic plan focused on making essential goods and services affordable and accessible to Nigerians, particularly fuel, food and transportation.
Amaechi urged members of the campaign council and party faithful to mobilise across the states and work towards securing victory for the ADC in 2027.
Atiku will implement LG autonomy – Campaign DG
The Director-General of the ADC/Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Austin Akobundu, has said Atiku Abubakar would implement the Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy if elected president in 2027.
Akobundu said he accepted the appointment with humility and a clear understanding of the responsibility involved, describing the role as a call to lead a campaign for Nigerians struggling to afford basic necessities.
“This is not ceremonial role. It is call to lead campaign for Nigerians who are asking simple question: How can I afford to live? For parent who must choose between paying school fees and buying food. For worker whose salary disappears into transport and rent,” he said.
He said the All Progressives Congress (APC) government had asked Nigerians to endure hardship for nearly four years, but families could not live on promises and businesses could not remain open on assurances that relief was coming.
“Our campaign will make that reality impossible to ignore. We will take people’s experiences seriously, explain how government’s choices affect daily lives, and offer credible alternative. Atiku Abubakar’s message is clear: Tinubu made life expensive. I will make life affordable again,” he said.
Akobundu said the campaign would focus on the everyday needs of Nigerians, including affordable food, lower transportation costs, reliable electricity, accessible education, healthcare and employment.
He said Atiku’s economic plan would prioritise production and affordability, including the restoration of a targeted, budgeted production subsidy for fuel refined in Nigeria from the first day of his administration. According to him, the policy would strengthen local refining and ease pressure on transportation, food and business costs.
Akobundu said lower fuel and transportation costs would bring markets closer to consumers and make food more affordable, while enabling businesses to increase production and pay workers.
On education, he said Atiku would review the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), pursue student debt forgiveness and improve access to education. He added that the government should help young people acquire skills without placing additional financial pressure on their families.
He said farmers needed safe access to their farms, affordable financing and reliable routes to markets. He added that Atiku would secure farmlands, improve access to credit, reopen land borders for legitimate cross-border trade and support local processing.
On electricity, Akobundu said Atiku would reform the power sector to make electricity more available and affordable.
He also said the former vice-president would restore the Eastern maritime port corridor to full operational capacity to reduce freight costs and give manufacturers direct access to global markets.
On governance, Akobundu said Atiku would implement the Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy to ensure that funds meant for local governments reached them.
He added that devolution of powers and a review of the Exclusive and Concurrent Legislative Lists would give state and local governments greater capacity to address the needs of their people.
“He will address hardship faced by workers forced to choose when to go to work because of exorbitant cost of transportation. He will end haphazard budget implementation that leaves agencies unable to deliver and contractors unpaid,” he said.
Akobundu added that Atiku would overhaul the health sector and establish a transparent financing programme for start-ups and entrepreneurship, particularly for young people and women.
He said implementing the commitments would require political will, experience and the ability to bring people together, describing Atiku as an experienced administrator and unifying leader.
Akobundu assured the party’s National Chairman, Senator David Mark; National Secretary, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; founding leader, Chief Ralph Nwosu; and members of the National Working Committee (NWC), National Executive Committee (NEC), Board of Trustees (BOT), Campaign Advisory Board and other stakeholders of his readiness to work with them to secure the confidence of Nigerians.
He said the council would work towards the election of Atiku and Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi on May 29, 2027.
He also appreciated the Chairman of the Presidential Campaign Council, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, and Chairman of the Campaign Advisory Board, Chief John Oyegun.
Akobundu noted the absence of the council’s Deputy Chairman and former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, attributing it to actions of the current administration.
He urged party leaders and council members to run an open, inclusive and ideas-driven campaign, adding that the council would operate within the law and defend Nigerians’ right to choose their future.
Credit: Nigerian Tribune