Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu for justifying the deepening hardship in Nigeria by drawing comparisons with fuel prices in other countries. In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the narrative as misleading and a grave distortion of the lived reality of Nigerians, arguing that affordability is defined not by price alone but by the relationship between income and expenditure.
The former vice president was responding to remarks made by President Tinubu during his visit to Bayelsa, where Tinubu reportedly compared Nigerian fuel prices favourably to those in Kenya and South Africa. Atiku argued that while petrol prices in Nigeria may appear lower, the average cost of living in Nigeria is significantly higher than in Kenya. He noted that Kenya’s GDP per capita is nearly double that of Nigeria’s, and a minimum wage earner in Nairobi takes home the equivalent of about N170,000—more than twice Nigeria’s N70,000.
Atiku also pointed out that Kenya operates a tiered wage structure that reflects the economic realities of its cities and regions, while Nigeria continues to impose a rigid national minimum wage that fails to account for glaring disparities in cost of living across the country. He warned that the administration risks appearing out of touch and indifferent if it relies on selective comparisons while citizens grapple with rising poverty, inflation, and declining living standards.
The statement urged the Tinubu administration to confront the full scope of the economic crisis it has created rather than seek refuge in arguments that collapse under the weight of facts. The rebuke highlights a persistent political debate over the government’s economic management, with opposition figures arguing that macro-level indicators such as stabilised exchange rates and moderating inflation have not translated into tangible relief for households.
