The Presidency on Sunday, October 11, 2026, issued a scathing response to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, declaring that the Nigerian electorate is far too sophisticated to trade long-term national economic security for what it termed shallow, short-term demagoguery.
The official statement, released from the State House in Abuja, was issued by Dr. Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Public Communication.
Titled “Atiku’s Demagoguery in the Face of Tinubu’s Logical Policies,” the release responded directly to remarks made by Atiku during an earlier press conference held at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) secretariat in Abuja.
During his Abuja briefing, Atiku criticized the Federal Government and NNPC Retail’s newly introduced 30-day petrol price discount and modulation framework. He likened the administration to a “dull student copying exam answers,” claiming President Tinubu adopted his “production subsidy” idea without the proper structural components.
Dr. Dare rejected Atiku’s critique, characterising the former Vice President’s economic proposals as a “dangerous mathematical fantasy wrapped in political deceit”. He noted that re-implementing blanket subsidies without clear crude oil production volume backing would restore unsustainable national debt, artificial scarcity, and fiscal bankruptcy.
The Presidency reaffirmed that the Tinubu administration remains committed to deregulation paired with price-smoothing reserves, compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure rollouts, and disciplined fiscal management to ensure lasting stability.
The State House maintained that Nigerians understand structural economic reforms take time and cannot be solved by 30-day electioneering rhetoric or populist promises.
