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Fuel Subsidy: Atiku Blasts Tinubu for Lying to Nigerians
Former Vice President, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, has berated the Federal government after the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, admitted that President Tinubu’s administration may have to allocate approximately N5.4 trillion for fuel subsidy by the end of 2024.
Presenting the Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan report on Wednesday, Edun said “Fuel subsidy: At current rates, expenditure on fuel subsidy is projected to reach N5.4 trillion by the end of 2024.”
In a post via his official X account, Abubakar said: “Nigeria is not working, and what we have had in a little over a year is a cocktail of trial-and-error economic policies. Paying subsidies and lying about it is nothing to brag about. Nigerians deserve better than this deception.”
The statement read:
President Bola Tinubu, at his inauguration on May 29, 2023, announced the abolishment of the subsidy on PMS, popularly known as fuel.
Ever since, it has been a bragging right of Tinubu and officials of his administration.
I had in my statement reviewing the one year of the Bola Tinubu administration urged the government to come clean on the actual position of the subsidy policy.
These were my exact words: “…provide clarity on the fuel subsidy regime, including the fiscal commitments and benefits from the fuel subsidy reform and the impact of this on the Federation Accounts. It is curious that since April 2024, fuel queues have mounted at many filling stations across Nigeria, and the infamous ‘black market’ has sprouted in several states. How much PMS is being imported and distributed, and at what cost? What is the implicit subsidy?”
If the subsidy regime had been characterised by opaqueness, what would we say of a situation where the subsidy is still being paid under the cover without Nigerians in the know?
Like millions of Nigerians, I was shocked to learn through media reports that the “government is still supporting downstream consumption.”
Now we know that expenditure on fuel subsidy may reach N5.4 trillion in 2024, compared to the N3.6 trillion spent in 2023, the same year that Tinubu claimed to have abolished fuel subsidy
I wish to restate that Nigeria is not working, and what we have had in a little over a year is a cocktail of trial-and-error economic policies. Paying subsidies and lying about it is nothing to brag about. Nigerians deserve better than this deception. -AA
President Donald Trump vowed on Sunday that the United States would take Greenland “one way or the other,” warning that Russia and China would “take over” if Washington fails to act.
Trump says controlling the mineral-rich Danish territory is crucial for US national security given increased Russian and Chinese military activity in the Arctic.
“If we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will, and I’m not letting that happen,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, despite neither country laying claim to the vast island.
Trump said he would be open to making a deal with the Danish self-governing territory “but one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
Denmark and other European allies have voiced shock at Trump’s threats over the island, which plays a strategic role between North America and the Arctic, and where the United States has had a military base since World War II.
A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland gained home rule 26 years later and is contemplating eventually loosening its ties with Denmark.
The vast majority of its population and political parties have said they do not want to be under US control and insist Greenlanders must decide their own future — a viewpoint continuously challenged by Trump.
“Greenland should make the deal, because Greenland does not want to see Russia or China take over,” Trump warned, as he mocked its defenses.
“You know what their defense is, two dog sleds,” he said, while Russia and China have “destroyers and submarines all over the place.”
Denmark’s prime minister warned last week that any US move to take Greenland by force would destroy 80 years of transatlantic security links.
Trump waved off the comment saying: “If it affects NATO, it affects NATO. But you know, (Greenland) need us much more than we need them.”
AFP
Iran has warned the United States against any military action, saying it would retaliate if the U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on threats to intervene as Tehran continues its crackdown on nationwide protests.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued the warning during a parliamentary session broadcast live on Iranian State television.
Qalibaf praised the country’s military response to the protests and cautioned that both the U.S. military and Israel are considered “legitimate targets” in the event of an attack on Iran.
Referring to Israel as “the occupied territory,” Qalibaf said Iran would not rule out launching a preemptive strike against either country if it perceives a threat.
“In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” Qalibaf said.
“We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat,” he added.
The warning came amid scenes of heightened tension in the chamber, as hardline lawmakers rushed the dais and chanted, “Death to America!”
Iran has been rocked by widespread protests challenging the country’s theocratic system over the past few weeks, prompting a sustained security crackdown by authorities.
Activists estimated that at least 116 people have died in connection with the demonstrations, while about 2,600 others have been detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Right Activists News Agency. Exact figures remain unclear due to internet shutdowns and disrupted phone services across the country.
Trump has warned that the United States is prepared to act if Iranian authorities kill protesters.
“If Iran (shoots) and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump said earlier this month.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready tohelp!!!” he added on his Truth Social platform.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Trump has been briefed on possible military strike options against Iran but has yet to make a final decision.
