The camp of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has hit back at former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, over his dismissal of Atiku’s promise to return fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.
In a statement on Tuesday, Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, described Fayemi’s attempt to liken Atiku’s fuel subsidy proposal to the All Progressives Congress, APC, Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in the 2023 election as a flawed argument that avoids the substance of the economic debate.
Recall that Fayemi, while speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Monday, described Atiku’s subsidy proposal as a political strategy rather than an economic policy.
“My take on that is that Atiku’s proposal of subsidy is politically equivalent to our own Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2023. It’s a political strategy. It’s not an economic construct,” Fayemi said.
Reacting, Atiku’s camp rejected the comparison, stressing that the critical issue was not whether Atiku’s proposal had political implications but whether the policy was economically viable.
According to Ibe, Atiku was not advocating a return to the former subsidy regime, which he said was characterised by opacity, questionable import claims and alleged corruption.
He added that Atiku’s proposal is based on a production-anchored subsidy model designed around domestic production and refining.
