The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday accused President Bola Tinubu of practising Robin Hood economics.
Atiku said Tinubu is robbing the poor to subsidise the rich
and powerful.
The former vice president, who spoke through his Senior
Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, made the remark while
reacting to a columnist @Waziriadio.
@Waziriadio, in his latest column on ThisDay, discussed what
makes the removal of petrol subsidy still an unsettled issue in Nigeria and why
Atiku’s plan to restore the subsidy is deeply problematic.
Responding, Shaibu insisted that Tinubu changed the
beneficiaries of fuel subsidy, stressing that he did not abolish it.
Shaibu said Atiku was not proposing a return to open-ended
subsidy on imported petrol.
Posting on X, Shaibu wrote: “My dear big brother
@Waziriadio, the problem with your argument is that it attacks a policy @atiku
did not propose.
“@atiku is not returning Nigeria to the open-ended subsidy
on imported petrol. His proposal is a targeted, capped, budgeted and
independently audited production support that follows the barrel refined in
Nigeria, guarantees consumer price relief and carries a sunset clause.
“By the way, @officialABAT did not abolish subsidy; he
merely changed its beneficiaries. He took it from the petrol tanks of
struggling Nigerians and repackaged it as waivers and incentives for his big
oil friends.
“It is Robin Hood economics in reverse: robbing the poor to
subsidise the rich and powerful.
“You may disagree with the @atiku model. But first, argue
against what the model actually proposed.
“Otherwise, we are conducting an elaborate funeral for a
corpse nobody brought to the burial.”
Since last week, Atiku’s camp and President Tinubu have been
at loggerheads over the issue of petrol subsidy removal.
Atiku had stirred the hornets’ nest when he vowed to return
the fuel subsidy regime if elected president of Nigeria in 2027.
During his inauguration at the Eagles Square in Abuja in
2023, Tinubu had declared an end to the fuel subsidy regime.
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