The Nigerian Presidency has fired back at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of misinterpreting the country’s economic landscape and harboring jealousy towards President Bola Tinubu. This response comes after Atiku’s recent statement, “What We Would Have Done Differently,” where he proposed alternative economic reforms and anti-corruption measures.
Bayo Onanuga, Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, described Atiku’s comments as “unfounded” and driven by entitlement. The Presidency noted that Atiku’s fixation on undermining Tinubu’s leadership detracts from addressing his party’s issues. “It’s perplexing that he would elevate his untested, hypothetical proposal, rejected by Nigerians, as superior to our multi-faceted reform agenda,” the statement read.
The Presidency emphasized that Atiku’s economic approach displays a fundamental misunderstanding of Nigeria’s urgent needs. Unlike Atiku’s recommended consultation period, Tinubu’s decisive actions are necessary to stabilize the economy, strained from previous administrations.
The Presidency condemned Atiku’s call to privatize state-owned refineries, labeling a proposal deemed outdated. Past attempts under the Obasanjo-Atiku administration failed, with investors offering scrap-value bids for Port Harcourt and Kaduna Refineries in 2007. In contrast, the Tinubu administration adopts a public-private partnership model to rehabilitate refineries, support modular refineries, and boost production capacity.
The Presidency accused Atiku of hypocrisy, citing past corruption allegations, including a U.S. investigation involving his wife and associates. Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidies saved Nigeria over N5 trillion, transforming the fiscal landscape.
The Presidency dismissed Atiku’s foreign exchange proposal as a “dirty float” and ineffective variant of the old fixed-rate system. Tinubu’s administration has adopted a transparent, flexible exchange rate system to curb forex subsidies, previously costing Nigeria billions monthly.
