Former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has levelled serious allegations against President Bola Tinubu’s administration regarding the management of petrol subsidy funds.
In a forthright statement issued yesterday, Atiku criticized the Tinubu administration for its lack of transparency concerning petrol subsidy expenditures, suggesting that funds are being diverted covertly.
This accusation comes amid continued public discourse and confusion over the status of fuel subsidy in Nigeria.
“The refusal of the present administration to disclose the actual expenditure on the petrol subsidy clearly indicates that there is a secretive diversion of funds,” Atiku asserted.
His comments respond directly to statements from the presidency, which continues to assert that the subsidy regime has concluded.
A presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga, reiterated the government’s stance on Thursday, stating, “The fuel subsidy regime has ended. There is no N5.4 trillion being provisioned for it in 2024, as being widely speculated and discussed.”
But reacting through his spokesman Paul Ibe, Atiku said, “Tinubu has brought the shady nature of running Lagos to the federal level. He claims subsidy is gone but his Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, says they are intervening from time to time while his Finance Minister, Wale Edun, described subsidy removal as an ‘ongoing process’.
A document authored by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy revealing how much subsidy is being paid is now being disowned by the very authors of the document.
“Both the World Bank and the IMF have revealed in separate reports that Nigeria is still paying petrol subsidies, but the Tinubu government refuses to come clean. Even a senior member of the APC had revealed that subsidy was being paid.”
According to the former Vice President, “For a man who claims to be on a mission to attract foreign direct investment, it is ironic that he cannot see that his policy flip flops and lies are capable of dissuading investors. He must come clean on this subsidy issue since he doubles as a petroleum minister.
The Tinubu administration should be courageous enough to own their policies and outcome with their full chest and responsible enough to be accountable for their actions to Nigerians.
“This denial lends credence that money meant for the Federation Account, which ought to be shared to states and local governments, is being diverted without any form of accountability whatsoever.”
He also called on the National Assembly to act on the development, saying, “There is a need for the National Assembly to get to the bottom of the matter rather than focusing on frivolous issues.
“The National Assembly needs to be alive to its responsibilities, especially in the area of oversight. Posterity will not be kind to members of the National Assembly if they continue to look the other way while daylight robbery is taking place,” the former Vice President said.
