Tinubu’s N60 fuel discount was a ‘stunt’ — Makinde campaign

The Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of using its N60 per litre petrol discount as a political stunt to deflect public anger rather than ease Nigerians’ economic hardship.

The campaign organisation said the reported increase in petrol prices from N1,370 to N1,410 per litre at filling stations in Abuja and other parts of the country had reinforced its earlier warning that the discount was no solution to the rising cost of living.

In a statement by its Director of Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the organisation accused the administration of using propaganda to project an image of compassion while Nigerians continued to bear the burden of economic hardship.

“The latest development also strengthens our position that no amount of propaganda can conceal the consequences of policies, whose promised benefits are not reflected in the daily lives of ordinary Nigerians,” it said.

The organisation also faulted the government’s economic reform narrative, arguing that the promise of bold reforms had become an excuse for imposing greater hardship on citizens.

“Nigerians cannot continue to be confronted with the hollow slogan of ‘bold economic reforms,’ which has become a euphemism for transferring the crushing burden of economic hardship onto citizens already struggling to survive,” the campaign organisation said.

It called for a fundamental rethink of the policies driving the hardship, warning that temporary concessions would remain inadequate without changes to the country’s economic direction.

Turning its criticism into a political argument, the organisation presented the Makinde/Daura ticket as an alternative to the Tinubu administration, citing its RESET NIGERIA Agenda, which it said was anchored on responsible economic management, transparent resource governance and productive investment.

“Nigeria needs a complete RESET under a Makinde Presidency and not this propaganda-driven administration that have failed in all ramifications,” Ihediwa said.