Fayemi: Atiku’s Subsidy Proposal is ‘Political Strategy’ Like APC’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket

Former Ekiti State Governor and ex-Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has described the fuel subsidy proposal by ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as a political strategy similar to the All Progressives Congress’ Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 elections.

Fayemi said this on Monday during an interview on _Arise Television’s Prime Time_, while commenting on the renewed debate over fuel subsidy removal.

According to him, Atiku’s position was designed to appeal to Nigerians struggling with the economic effects of subsidy removal, rather than being grounded in an economic framework.

*‘It’s a Political Strategy, Not an Economic Construct’*

“My take on that is that Atiku’s proposal of subsidy is politically equivalent to our own Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2023. It’s a political strategy. It’s not an economic construct,” Fayemi said.

Despite criticising Atiku’s proposal, Fayemi reaffirmed his support for subsidy removal. He said he had consistently advocated the policy for several years.

“I was and I remain an advocate of fuel subsidy removal. As chairman of the governors’ forum, I spent four years in this battle,” he said.

The former governor, however, acknowledged that the policy had imposed hardship on vulnerable Nigerians — an area he said Atiku was seeking to exploit politically.

“But understandably, it’s a political strategy that will sell with those who are hard done by the impact of fuel subsidy removal,” he added.

*On Tinubu’s Implementation and Safety Nets*

Fayemi noted that President Bola Tinubu inherited substantial groundwork on subsidy removal from the previous administration, but faulted the manner of implementation.

“What President Tinubu inherited, in fairness to him, was the work that had already been completed by that administration. The only challenge I had with it was the way it was done,” he said.

He recalled that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, in collaboration with the Federal Government and the World Bank, had developed a safety-net programme to protect the most vulnerable from the impact of subsidy removal.

“At the Nigerian Governors Forum, we actually had a committee work with the federal government and the World Bank to develop a safety net strategy that would address what would happen to the most vulnerable segment of our population,” Fayemi said.

He said the continued hardship faced by vulnerable Nigerians was what made Atiku’s proposal politically attractive.

“I believe that’s what Vice President Atiku is taking advantage of. The vulnerable segment of the population is still hard done by,” he stated.

*Linking Poverty to Security and 2027 Politics*

Fayemi said many Nigerians were less concerned about technical arguments on subsidy and more focused on daily survival.

“They just want to live reasonably well, eke out a living, have one or two meals a day, be able to send their kids to school, not be taken in by sickness or anything that might create further problems for them,” he said.

He also linked poverty and inequality to Nigeria’s security challenges, saying they were “at the root of the insurgency and the banditry that we’re dealing with.”

The former governor maintained that Atiku’s position should be viewed within the context of the 2027 political contest, arguing that both the subsidy proposal and the APC’s 2023 Muslim-Muslim ticket were strategies designed to appeal to specific sections of the electorate.