President Bola Tinubu on Thursday dismissed a rival’s promise from the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to reinstate petrol subsidies as evidence of “serious ignorance” about public finance.
The President and his team have consistently argued that removing the costly policy was a necessary step toward fiscal stability.
Speaking at the Presidential Villa Abuja, while receiving the Governor of Osun State Ademola Adeleke, President Tinubu responded to comments by ADC’s Atiku Abubakar, who recently pledged to restore the subsidy if elected in 2027.
The former Vice President Atiku had also accused the Tinubu administration of failing to account for savings generated after the subsidy was removed on May 29, 2023.
“Let’s look at the trajectory of the history,” President Tinubu said while receiving Osun State Governor Adeleke, who had come to the Villa following his August 15 electoral victory.
“I saw one of my opponents, now say he will go back to subsidy. I read it. That is demonstration of a serious ignorance on governance and economy,” Tinubu noted.
President Tinubu described the subsidy removal as a corrective measure that helped relieve pressure on state finances.
“Before I came here, 27 states were unable to pay salaries, not to even talk of pensioners, salary of workers,” he said, arguing that the funds saved should instead be directed toward “quality roads, housing, education, and healthcare.”
The President’s comments come as fuel-pricing policy remains a potent political issue in the country, where past subsidy regimes have strained federal budgets and fuelled corruption allegations.
The Tinubu administration has repeatedly flagged the removal of subsidies as one of its key achievements, even as critics including members of the opposition party demand greater transparency over how the savings have been used.
Urging reconciliation
and turning to Governor Adeleke, President Tinubu urged the newly returned leader to treat his victory as a public mandate rather than a personal conquest, and to use it to heal divisions in Osun.
“You did not conquer anybody. You won the election. That is the essence of democracy,” the President said.
“All for the reconciliation, expand your coast. That is the only way you can give thanks to our people. Not the way you sang it or celebrated it. It’s the way you act it,” Tinubu stressed.
