PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former vice president Atiku Abubakar has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act now and save Nigerians from their current state of squalor .

Atiku Abubakar said reforms must ultimately be judged by what it does to the lives of the people such as expansion of production, create opportunity and improve living standards, not endless explanation for hardship.

Briefing journalists as his residence in Abuja on Friday, the ADC presidential candidate stressed that since May 29, 2023, Nigerians have lived with the consequences of the removal of petrol subsidy without adequate protection for families, workers, farmers and businesses during the transition.

He said: “for more than three years, that burden has travelled from the petrol station to the bus stop, from the bus stop to the market, and from the market to the family dining table.

“When petrol becomes expensive, transportation becomes expensive. When transportation becomes expensive, food becomes expensive. Farmers pay more to move produce. Traders pay more to stock their shops. Workers pay more to get to work. Businesses pay more for logistics and energy.

“In the end, the Nigerian family receives the bill.When government makes energy expensive, it makes life expensive.

“This is no longer wean argument between economists. It is the daily reality of millions of Nigerians.

“These are the real tests of an economic policy.

“When I first argued that government should review its approach to the withdrawal of petrol subsidy and consider responsible intervention to bring down the cost of fuel, Mr. Bola Tinubu dismissed my proposal as demonstrating “serious ignorance” of governance and the economy.

“My dear Bola, events since then have raised a simple question.

“Is the Nigeria Labour Congress also ignorant when it calls for urgent intervention to cushion workers from rising petrol prices?

“Are petroleum marketers ignorant when they call for policies that strengthen domestic refining and help moderate pump prices?

“Are Nigerian manufacturers ignorant when they warn that power-related expenses now consume more than half of operating costs?

“And are the millions of Nigerians crying out because they can no longer afford transportation, food and other basic necessities also ignorant?

“When workers, producers, marketers and ordinary families are all raising the alarm, government must listen.”

Atiku emphasized that when everybody who questions your policy is ignorant, while only the President is presumed to be wise, then Nigerians have a leadership problem on their hands.

He argued that leadership requires the humility to confront the consequences of policy and the courage to change course.

“Across our factories, production costs are rising while unsold goods pile up in warehouses. Manufacturers struggle to keep producing; families struggle to afford what they produce.

“The goods are there. The need is there. What is missing is the purchasing power.

“Government celebrates GDP growth, higher revenues and bigger allocations. But Nigerians judge the economy by what their money can buy.

“If government receives more naira while the citizen’s naira buys less food, less fuel, less electricity and less transportation, then bigger government revenues mean little to the family struggling to survive.

“Economic growth must enter the home.It must enter the market basket.It must show up in the purchasing power of the worker.

“A government collecting more money while its citizens can afford less cannot declare victory on the strength of bigger numbers alone.

“That is why I am calling on Mr. Bola Tinubu to act now.He has approximately eight months remaining in office.

“Bola, I want you to Use those 8months to give Nigerians relief.

“And let me say this plainly:Bola Tinubu should not be ashamed to do what is necessary to lower the price of petrol simply because Atiku Abubakar proposed a government intervention.

“He should just take the idea.
Rename it if he wishes.And even take the credit.What matters to me is that, Nigerians pay less.A sensible idea does not become a bad idea because it came from your opponent.

“If responsible intervention can lower prices, intervene.If changing course can help Nigerian families, change course.

And Nigerians do not need another elaborate palliative ceremony.”

“And if elected, I will work to build an economy in which growth is not merely announced in Abuja but felt in Nigerian homes.

“An economy where more production means more jobs.Where more revenue means better lives.

“Where economic growth means greater purchasing power.

“And where the Nigerian family can once again afford the basic necessities of life.”