All Progressives Congress (APC) has again kicked against the declaration by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to return the fuel subsidy regime if elected into office.
National Publicity Secretary of the governing party, Felix Morka, in a statement on Thursday alleged that the proposal to return fuel subsidy as being canvassed by the former vice-president was not informed by any altruistic motive but to plunder the country’s foreign reserves, which he noted, has risen to over $54 billion.
‘Atiku’s sudden u-turn from his 2023 policy position in favour of fuel subsidy removal to his new promise to restore the fuel subsidy regime, if elected, must be understood as his latest device to lay his hands on, and squander, the country’s 18-year foreign reserve high of over $54 billion built up from $3 billion by President Bola Tinubu in less than 4 years through bold and prudent economic reforms.
‘The National Treasury that President Tinubu has built strong is what Atiku desires to scatter and plunder under the cover of his fake and unrealistic promise to restore the ruinous fuel subsidy regime.
‘In his book, My Watch, President Olusegun Obasanjo characterized Atiku as possessing a propensity for corruption, a tendency toward disloyalty, poor judgment, and a readiness to sacrifice the national interest for selfish gains. In August 2026, Obasanjo described his decision to select Atiku as his running mate in 1999 as the biggest mistake of his presidency.
He stated, ‘The man I picked as my running mate, my number two, if I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him.’ That is an open-and-shut reference by the former President, Atiku’s principal, to his unfitness for public office.
‘Atiku was an accidental Vice President, and categorically unfit for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’
The APC further alleged that ‘ as a former public official, Atiku’s record is an executive summary of some of Nigeria’s vilest episodes of corruption and cronyism that pulverized our economy and decimated public trust.’
The party urged the electorate to reject the ADC presidential candidate in the forthcoming general elections.
‘Nigeria’s upcoming presidential election presents the electorate the opportunity to deal a final blow to Atiku’s desperate quest for presidential power, and save the country from his ravenous plunder.
‘From the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and the Siemens bribery scandal to the William Jefferson case, the PTDF funds controversy, and the US Senate investigation into suspicious financial transactions, Atiku’s name is engraved ingloriously on files and dossiers of onshore and offshore financial scandals and atrocities.
‘These are not mere allegations. They are matters that are well documented in official records, tribunal proceedings, government investigations, national and foreign legislative reports, and international financial inquiries. Together, they raise legitimate questions about the fitness for probity and accountability of this serial presidential contender.’