Atiku’s Subsidy Promise Is Like APC’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket – Fayemi

Former Ekiti State Governor and ex-Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kayode Fayemi, has described Atiku Abubakar’s proposal on fuel subsidy as a political strategy similar to the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket adopted by the APC in the 2023 election. He recently had his say during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time while discussing the ongoing debate over fuel subsidy.

Admitting that the proposal could resonate with Nigerians who have been affected by the removal of petrol subsidy, Fayemi stated that vulnerable citizens are more concerned about their economic wellbeing than the technical arguments surrounding subsidy policy.

Reiterating his support for the removal of fuel subsidy, he criticised the manner in which the policy was implemented by President Tinubu.

His words, “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.

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

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

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

However, as I have also consistently said, because at the Nigerian Governors Forum, we actually had a committee work with the federal government and the World Bank, by the way, to develop a safety net strategy that would address what would happen to the most vulnerable segment of our population.

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

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.”