Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sharply criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, describing their impact on Nigerians as severe and unsustainable.
In a statement released on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku accused the President of distorting Nigeria’s reform history and resorting to “a reckless tirade” that reveals “hypocrisy and historical amnesia.”
“Atiku argued that the effects of the current administration’s policies are visible in the daily struggles of ordinary citizens across the country.“Families are skipping meals, businesses are shutting their doors, and hardworking citizens are watching their incomes evaporate under the weight of relentless inflation and collapsing purchasing power,” the statement said.
“The cost of living has become unbearable, insecurity continues to stalk communities, and hope is steadily giving way to despair. What has been marketed as reform has translated into hardship without relief.”
Atiku took particular aim at the administration’s handling of privatisation, especially regarding the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). He recalled his long-standing advocacy for the privatisation of the NNPC and the sale of refineries to credible private investors, policies he claimed Tinubu had opposed in the past.
He contrasted this with what he described as the current administration’s “commercialisation of the national oil company in opacity without clear valuation, without transparency, and with lingering questions about who truly benefits.”
“This is not reform; it is privatisation without accountability,” the statement declared. Atiku highlighted the successes of the privatisation programme implemented during his time in office, citing companies such as: Oando Plc (formerly Unipetrol), Conoil Plc, African Petroleum (now Ardova Plc), Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, Benue Cement Company, Transcorp Hilton Abuja
He described these as examples of policies that “unlocked value and revived struggling state enterprises.”
The former presidential candidate also took a swipe at President Tinubu’s educational background and understanding of reform history.“It is not our fault that the President does not and cannot read,” the statement said, referencing controversies surrounding Tinubu’s credentials. It urged the President to consult documented records, including Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s book The Accidental Public Servant.Atiku further criticised the tone of Tinubu’s recent remarks, saying the resort to mockery “underscores a deeper problem: a leadership more comfortable with insults than with facts.”
“You cannot oppose reform when it demands courage and then execute a shadow version of it in power,” the statement added.The statement comes amid ongoing public debate over the economic reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, which include fuel subsidy removal and floating of the naira measures the government says are necessary for long-term economic stability but which have triggered widespread hardship in the short term.
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