By Aminu Garko
The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, ADC-PCC, has described the Federal Government’s decision to reduce the price of petrol for only 30 days as a desperate, shameless and insulting attempt to bribe Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general election, declaring that the gimmick will not save the Tinubu administration from electoral rejection.
The ADC-PCC was reacting to the announcement by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, that Nigerians would enjoy reduced petrol prices at NNPC filling stations for the next 30 days.
In a statement on Thursday, the Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC-PCC, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the announcement was not only laughable but also amounted to an admission that the Federal Government chose to inflict unprecedented hardship on Nigerians.
“After over three years of subjecting Nigerians to excruciating pain through the reckless removal of fuel subsidy, the collapse of the naira and suffocating economic policies, the Tinubu administration now thinks it can bribe Nigerians with 30 days of cheaper fuel.
“Nigerians will reject your one-month bribe,” he said.
Ologbondiyan described the announcement as a political gimmick rather than an economic policy, saying it was evidence of growing panic within the Presidency as the 2027 elections approached.
He asked what would happen after the 30-day period.
“What happens after 30 days? Will Nigerians return to buying petrol at over N1,400 per litre?
“This is not governance; this is deceit. It is a negotiated bribe designed to be reviewed monthly to suit the government’s political calendar.
“It is an insult to millions of Nigerian families who can no longer afford basic necessities, small businesses struggling to survive and transporters who have been crippled by the astronomical cost of fuel,” he said.
The council also commended its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for consistently challenging what it described as the anti-people economic policies of the Tinubu administration, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy without adequate social protection.
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The ADC-PCC said the Federal Government’s sudden 30-day fuel price reduction had vindicated Atiku’s position that Nigerians could and should have access to petrol at substantially lower prices.
“We commend our presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for boldly exposing the failures of this oppressive government and for promising to restore a humane and responsible approach to fuel subsidy management in the interest of the Nigerian people.
“The government has now, albeit belatedly, come to terms with the reality that subsidy removal without adequate safety nets was a grave policy error.
“Atiku was right all along. This half-hearted 30-day gimmick is proof that the government has finally acknowledged the truth, although it has done so too late and in a deceitful manner,” it said.
Ologbondiyan said the latest announcement further vindicated Atiku’s position that fuel subsidy management must be transparent, accountable and people-centred, rather than a mechanism for transferring the burden of economic mismanagement to the poor.
“If the government can reduce the burden of fuel costs for 30 days, with priority given to public transport operators, why did it allow Nigerians to suffer for more than 800 days?
“This proves that the government has always had the capacity to make life easier for Nigerians but chose not to do so and only remembers the suffering masses when elections are around the corner,” he said.
He said no amount of tokenism could erase the trauma Nigerians had endured under the present administration, including rising inflation, hunger, unemployment, declining purchasing power and worsening insecurity.
“No one-month palliative can buy the conscience of Nigerians.
“Nigerians are not for sale. You cannot buy their future with 30 days of cheaper fuel.
“They have seen through this fraud. They know the difference between genuine governance and a one-month electoral bribe. They have resolved to vote out hardship and hunger in 2027,” he said.
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The ADC-PCC therefore urged Nigerians to remain steadfast, united and vigilant, warning them not to be deceived by temporary concessions or election-season gimmicks.
The council assured Nigerians that the ADC represents a credible, competent and compassionate alternative committed to rescuing the country from its present economic and security challenges and enthroning a people-focused, accountable and responsible government under the leadership of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.