Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration for granting tax incentives to oil companies while Nigerians continue to grapple with rising fuel costs and inflation.

In a statement released by his aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku argued that Tinubu’s removal of petrol subsidies contradicts the government’s ongoing concessions to petroleum investors. 

He noted that deep offshore oil and gas projects enjoy production tax credits of up to $4.50 per barrel, with additional incentives raising benefits to as much as $11.50 per barrel.

“Nigerians were told subsidy removal was unavoidable, yet oil investors receive generous incentives. So, is Tinubu against government intervention itself, or only when it benefits citizens?” Atiku asked.

He further questioned whether subsidies had truly ended, citing NNPC Limited’s audited accounts that recorded trillions of naira in “energy-security expenses” and under-recovery costs in 2023 and 2024.

Atiku insisted that public funds were still being used to bridge the gap between petrol import costs and pump prices, despite official claims that subsidies were gone. 

He pledged that his economic recovery plan would not restore the opaque subsidy system but instead introduce a capped, transparent intervention tied to local refining and competition.

“You cannot subsidise capital and criminalise relief for citizens. Reform should ease suffering, not deepen it,” he said.

The former Vice-President also demanded transparency over tax credits and concessions granted to petroleum companies, stressing that Nigerian investors deserve equal access to such incentives.

His remarks come amid a heated debate over fuel pricing and economic reforms, with Tinubu recently dismissing Atiku’s subsidy proposal as “ignorant of governance and the economy.”

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