‘Nigerians rejected your ideas in 2023’ — presidency replies Atiku over his ‘alternative reforms’

The presidency says Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, “would have plunged Nigeria into a worse situation” if he had been elected president. 

The presidency, through Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the president on information and strategy, was replying to a series of posts by Abubakar detailing how he would have handled reforms better as president.

Abubakar said his policy reforms would have “protected our fragile economy against a much deeper crisis by preventing business collapse”.

He criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration for removing the petrol subsidy, floating the exchange rate, and increasing the electricity tariff, describing it as “overkill”.

The former vice-president said although he advocated for the removal of the petrol subsidy, his administration would have adopted “a gradualist approach” to implementing the reforms.

Onanuga said Abubakar’s ideas “lacked details,” noting that Nigerians “rejected” them at the 2023 presidential poll.

The presidential aide added that “talk is cheap” and “it is so easy to paint a flowery to-do list”.

“President Tinubu met a country facing several grave challenges. Fuel subsidies were siphoning away enormous resources we could ill afford, and there was criminal arbitrage in the forex market,” Onanuga said.

“No leader worth his name will allow these two economic disorders to persist without moving to end them surgically.

“While advocating for gradual reforms may sound appealing, Tinubu took measures that should have been taken decades ago by Alhaji Abubakar and his boss when they had the opportunity.

“Alhaji Abubakar calls for empathy and a human face to reforms. We have no problem with this, as it resonates well with our administration’s focus. President Tinubu has consistently emphasised the need for compassion and protection of the most vulnerable.”

Onanuga added that the Tinubu administration prioritised social safety nets and targeted support for those affected by recent economic transitions.