Fuel Price: Tinubu Has Turned Petrol Stations Into Centres of Punishment — ADC
By Nafiu Muhammad Lema
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the rising cost of petrol, saying the increase has worsened the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the remarks in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, following reports that petrol is selling for as much as N1,470 per litre in some locations.
Abdullahi said the rising cost of petrol was affecting virtually every aspect of daily life, including transportation, food prices, electricity, education and business operations.
“President Tinubu has turned the petrol pump into an instrument of punishment for everyday Nigerians. Food, transportation, electricity, education, and everything Nigerians need to survive respond directly to the price of fuel,” he said.
The ADC spokesman also cited reports of private schools increasing fees by between 30 and 40 per cent, describing the development as another indication of the economic pressure on households.
He argued that most workers’ incomes had not increased at the same pace as the cost of fuel, food, rent, transportation and education.
According to him, Nigerians are increasingly being forced to make difficult choices, including reducing meals, withdrawing children from school, abandoning medical treatment and closing businesses.
“At N1,470 per litre, petrol is no longer simply a commodity. It is Tinubu Tax, which has made life unbearable for the majority,” Abdullahi said.
He further criticised the Federal Government’s economic reforms, arguing that policies that leave citizens poorer cannot be regarded as successful.
“A reform that continuously makes the people poorer is not working. An economic policy that produces impressive figures at government briefings but hunger in Nigerian homes is a failure,” he said.
Abdullahi said the 2027 general elections would provide Nigerians with an opportunity to choose between continuing with the current administration’s economic policies and the alternative programme being proposed by the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
He reiterated Atiku’s proposal to reintroduce petrol subsidy as part of measures to support domestic fuel production and reduce the cost of transportation, food and production.
“Unlike Tinubu and APC, we recognise that economic reform must serve the people, not sacrifice them,” he said.
The ADC spokesman urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to address the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians, warning that citizens’ resilience should not be treated as a justification for continued hardship.
