Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticized President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of remaining indifferent to the suffering caused by his administration’s policies, including the removal of the petrol subsidy.
In a post on X on Thursday, Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), referred to Tinubu as “T-Pain” for worsening the economic conditions faced by Nigerians.
“The haphazard and disingenuous approach of the current administration to fuel subsidy management has been the reason we are in this current economic crisis in the country.
“As things stand, there will be no let up in the escalating inflation rate, which is drowning the material well-being of Nigerians. It is even more worrying that T-pain is undisturbed by the hardship in the country,” Atiku wrote.
On Wednesday, Nigerians were met with another rise in petrol prices when the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) retail outlets increased the pump price in Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
In Lagos, several NNPCL outlets were observed selling petrol at ₦998 per litre, a significant jump from the previous price of ₦855. This sudden increase sparked panic-buying, leading to long queues at filling stations.
Private fuel stations quickly followed suit, with some selling petrol for as much as ₦1,050 in parts of Lagos.
Similarly, in Abuja, NNPCL outlets raised the price from ₦897 to ₦1,030 per litre.
This latest hike comes after a prior increase on September 2, 2024, when NNPCL raised the price from ₦568 to ₦855 per litre, causing public outrage.
Although there has been no official communication from NNPCL regarding the latest price surge, the company hinted at a possible increase after it began loading its first batch of petrol from the Dangote Refinery in mid-September.