The Presidency has called out the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, citing a past statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the former vice president lacked good judgment and did not understand what it takes to lead Nigeria.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, shared the remarks attributed to Obasanjo in a 2018 video, describing them as another negative assessment of Atiku’s suitability for the presidency.
Onanuga posted the video on his X handle amid the growing political exchanges between the Tinubu administration and the ADC presidential candidate.
In the video, Obasanjo was quoted as saying that Atiku lacked the right sense of judgment and had repeatedly failed to understand the responsibilities of the presidency.
“Atiku Abubakar does not have right sense of judgment, and on a number of occasions, I pointed this out to him. He complained too much and wasn’t able to understand or learn what it takes to be a president… so I gave up,” Obasanjo said.
The Presidency’s latest criticism comes amid an increasingly heated exchange between Tinubu and Atiku over the Federal Government’s economic policies, particularly its decision to introduce a 30-day petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) retail outlets.
Atiku recently criticised the initiative, accusing Tinubu of copying his production subsidy proposal but failing to implement the measures he believes would make it effective.
The former vice president described Tinubu as a “dull student” who copied a classmate’s examination answer without understanding the lesson.
Atiku made the remarks during the inauguration of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
“Wait a minute, Bola. You have borrowed the idea but missed the lesson,” he said.
The ADC candidate argued that the President had taken the idea of a production subsidy and reduced it to a temporary petrol discount instead of implementing a broader policy to address the economic difficulties facing Nigerians.
“You had a production subsidy and reduced it to a 30-day gesture,” Atiku stated.
He further compared Tinubu to a student who copied another person’s answer without understanding the subject.
“Bola, you are like a dull student who copied his classmate’s answer. You have done it so blindly that you copied the classmate’s name at the top of his examination paper and then demanded marks for original thinking,” he said.
Atiku maintained that he had no objection to the President adopting his proposal but accused the administration of removing the essential elements needed to make it effective.
“You copied my production subsidy proposal. There is nothing wrong with that,” he said.
However, he added, “You stripped away the part that makes it work and handed Nigerians a 30-day discount.”
Questioning the sustainability of the measure, Atiku asked, “Where is the rest of the answer?”
He concluded his criticism by telling the President, “Bola, please, you see why it is good to go to school?”
The Presidency has defended the petrol discount, insisting that it should not be confused with the petroleum subsidy system abolished by the Tinubu administration in May 2023.
Onanuga previously explained that the arrangement involved NNPC Retail reducing or foregoing its profit margin for a specified period and passing the savings to customers.
“Every marketer adds a margin to the price it pays for the fuel it sells. A margin discount means the retailer chooses to take a smaller margin, or no margin at all for a period, and passes the saving to the customer. The cost of the discount is borne by the retailer alone,” he said.
He contrasted the arrangement with the former subsidy system, under which the government paid part of the cost of petrol on behalf of consumers.
“A subsidy is different. It is when government pays part of the price the consumer would otherwise pay. That money comes from public revenue — funds that would otherwise go to salaries, schools, hospitals and infrastructure,” Onanuga stated.
“That is the regime this administration ended in 2023, and it is not coming back,” he added.
Atiku had earlier described the 30-day petrol discount as a “panic-driven publicity stunt”, arguing that a temporary intervention would not adequately address the economic hardship Nigerians had experienced following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
The ADC Presidential Campaign Council also criticised the initiative, questioning whether the measure would provide meaningful relief to households struggling with rising living costs.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) similarly rejected the arrangement, describing it as “tokenism and a Greek gift”. The party questioned the decision to limit the discount to NNPC retail outlets, warning that concentrating demand at selected stations could lead to long queues, congestion and safety concerns.