- President Bola Tinubu publicly responded to Atiku Abubakar after the former vice president called for a return to fuel subsidy
- Tinubu described the subsidy proposal as proof of serious ignorance about governance and the economy
- The president also took a swipe at a former ally, referencing a governor in Osun State who became known for paying half salaries
President Bola Tinubu has hit back at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola in a video address, dismissing calls for a return to fuel subsidy as proof of a fundamental misunderstanding of how governance and economics work.
Tinubu directed his sharpest criticism at Atiku, who had publicly advocated reinstating fuel subsidy payments that the president scrapped after taking office in May 2023.
Source: Twitter
“I saw Atiku saying that he’ll go back to fuel subsidy. That’s a demonstration of serious ignorance of governance and the economy,” Tinubu said in the video.
Tinubu raises ‘half salary’ jibe
The president used the condition of state finances before his administration as the basis of his argument, pointing out that 27 states were unable to meet their salary obligations at the time he assumed office.
He argued that removing subsidy freed up revenue that now flows to state governments, enabling them to pay workers and pensioners.
To drive his point home, Tinubu turned his fire on Aregbesola, his former political ally who governed Osun State.
Without naming him directly, he described a man from Osun whose nickname among residents became “Half Salary,” a reference to the state’s widely reported struggles with paying workers in full during that period.
“Before I came here, 27 states couldn’t pay the salaries of workers, not to talk of pensioners. In Osun State, I know a man who is nicknamed ‘Half Salary’,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu defends subsidy removal
Beyond the personal digs, the president framed his defence of the subsidy removal around what he described as the everyday needs of ordinary Nigerians.
He said salaries feed families, and argued that concentrations of population and local government structures sit within states, making state-level funding critical to the lives of common citizens.
Tinubu’s remarks position him directly against opposition figures ahead of the 2027 general elections. Atiku is widely expected to contest the presidential race, while Aregbesola, once a close political associate of the president, has increasingly distanced himself from the ruling camp.
Wike blasts Atiku
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike dismissed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as a “voodoo economist,” accusing him of shifting positions on fuel subsidy policy, while insisting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains the frontrunner heading into the 2027 presidential election.
Wike made the remarks on Thursday, August 20, during a media briefing held while he inspected infrastructure projects across Abuja.
Source: Legit.ng