ABUJA, NIGERIA — Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has challenged the Federal Government to provide a full public account of savings from the removal of petrol subsidy, insisting that Nigerians deserve to know how the funds have been spent after enduring extraordinary hardship .
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the administration of President Bola Tinubu and its supporters were attempting to divert attention from questions over the management of public resources by reviving old allegations against him . The former vice-president argued that the government had removed the subsidy and asked Nigerians to endure the resulting hardship on the promise that the savings would be channelled into development .
“They removed the subsidy from the poor and promised that the sacrifice would free resources for development. Nigerians accepted extraordinary pain on that promise,” Atiku said .
Atiku further questioned why Nigeria continues to borrow heavily if substantial fiscal savings genuinely exist, putting the cumulative amount requiring transparent reconciliation at approximately N30 trillion . He cited Federation Account figures showing that in July 2026, gross statutory revenue stood at N4.359 trillion, but only N3.007 trillion was shared among the three tiers of government . He traced a pattern over several months, arguing that month after month, enormous amounts are removed under different classifications before the balance is distributed .
The former vice-president also accused the Tinubu administration of fiscal opacity and excessive taxation, noting that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s July 2026 Business Expectations Survey showed that 70.8 per cent of respondents identified high and multiple taxation as their biggest business constraint . He contrasted this with the government’s willingness to offer performance-based tax incentives to major oil operators, arguing that the administration understands the economic principle of tax relief when large corporations are involved but ignores it when Nigerian manufacturers, SMEs, traders and entrepreneurs are being suffocated by multiple taxes and levies .
Atiku further challenged the government to show Nigerians, project by project, how much was spent on the rehabilitation of government-owned refineries, who received the contracts, what was delivered, and why Nigerians are again being promised that the refineries will “come back to work” .
“If the U.S. assessment is wrong, disprove it with the records. If it is incomplete, complete the picture with the accounts. Nigerians have paid enough. They have sacrificed enough. President Tinubu should stop explaining and start accounting,” Atiku said .
The ADC presidential candidate had earlier clarified that his proposed fuel subsidy model, if elected, would not be a return to the old import-subsidy regime, but a targeted, capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited intervention designed to support domestic refining and reduce the cost burden on consumers . He said the support would gradually become unnecessary as domestic refining capacity expands, supply stabilises and competition increases .
“Atiku has never proposed restoring the import-subsidy regime and subsequently removing it on some predetermined date. That is not his policy and should not be attributed to him,” Shaibu stated .
ADC chieftain Austin Okai has argued that Atiku’s intervention has dealt a significant political blow to the Tinubu administration by reopening the conversation on fuel subsidy, noting that the level of response from the Presidency, ministers and government officials demonstrates that the issue has touched a very important political and economic nerve . Okai insisted that Nigerians are not asking for propaganda but for accountability, wanting to know what happened to the money saved from subsidy removal and why, despite the promised benefits, millions are still struggling with unprecedented economic hardship .
As the debate intensifies ahead of the 2027 elections, Atiku’s challenge places the Tinubu administration under sustained pressure to demonstrate fiscal transparency and justify the economic sacrifices demanded of ordinary Nigerians. The Federal Government has consistently defended the subsidy removal, linking it to the viability of the Dangote Refinery and arguing that the policy was necessary to attract private sector investment in the downstream petroleum sector.
