My subsidy plan will cut cost, not return us to old import regime — Atiku

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar has pledged that his plan for petroleum subsidy is not a return to the old fuel subsidy but a targeted intervention to make life cheaper for Nigerians.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the clarification became necessary after Paul Ibe, Atiku’s former Special Assistant on Media, was quoted as saying an Atiku government would restore fuel subsidy and remove it later.

Shaibu said that description was unauthorised, imprecise and materially misleading. 

He added that policy positions belong to the candidate, not the spokesperson.

According to Shaibu, Atiku is not proposing to bring back import subsidy only to remove it on a set date.

He said what Atiku is proposing is a targeted, capped and transparently budgeted support for domestic refining. 

He explained that the subsidy will be independently audited with clear exit conditions built in from the start.

“There is no arbitrary date for withdrawal. Once local refining increases, supply stabilises, and competition brings prices down, government support will no longer be needed. The intervention will then end naturally.”

“You do not remove scaffolding because the calendar says so. You remove it when the building can stand on its own,” he said.

Shaibu noted that Nigerians should focus less on grammar and more on solutions.

“The real question is: Why is everything so expensive, and what will Atiku do to make life affordable again?” he said.

He accused the Tinubu administration of passing the burden of its reforms to ordinary families. 

He said Atiku’s plan is to cut production and transport costs, boost local refining, and restore people’s purchasing power.

“The choice is not between removing subsidy and bringing it back. The choice is between Expensive Nigeria and Affordable Nigeria,” Shaibu added.