A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger State, Hon. Jonathan Vatsa, has endorsed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s criticism of the Federal Government’s fuel subsidy removal, urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider the policy. Vatsa, a former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in the state, argued that Nigerians have been “shortchanged and reduced to nothing” by the measure, which he said has deepened poverty and imposed unbearable hardship on citizens.
In a statement issued in Minna titled “Let’s Take Atiku’s Message and Leave the Messenger,” Vatsa said the president should focus on the substance of the criticism rather than the political identity of the messenger. “Even if you don’t like the messenger, you should at least take the message. The whole world knows that the subsidy removal policy of this government has failed; it has pushed Nigerians to extreme poverty,” he stated.
According to Vatsa, the policy has primarily benefited the 36 state governors, their families, elected officials and government appointees with access to public funds, rather than ordinary Nigerians. “It has not in any way benefited the common masses on the street. It has further pushed low-income earners below the poverty level. Life is meaningless to average Nigerians right now,” he insisted.
He alleged that despite increased allocations to states, some governors have continued to accumulate loans while luxury spending has risen and infrastructure projects remain abandoned. “Yet, you see uncompleted projects all over the country. There are no roads, no schools and no hospitals. They acquire private jets and luxury cars, while government projects are left abandoned,” he said.
Vatsa described the policy as “starvation” rather than economic reform, saying Nigerians can no longer cope with the rising cost of living. “You don’t call this system reform; it is starvation. Nigerians can no longer breathe. Hardship has overwhelmed the people,” he added.
The APC chieftain argued that countries around the world subsidise energy when necessary to cushion citizens from economic shocks, citing European interventions in gas prices following the Russia-Ukraine war. While acknowledging corruption in Nigeria’s subsidy regime, he maintained the government should have addressed the corruption rather than remove the subsidy entirely. “The problem with subsidy payment in Nigeria is the corruption attached to it, which one would have expected the president to address,” he said.
Vatsa also rejected the argument that subsidy removal was necessary to enable governments to pay salaries, noting that states still owe pensioners despite increased allocations. “If only payment of salaries is the reason for the removal of fuel subsidy, then the government is ignorant of how to manage the Economy,” he observed.
He urged Tinubu to reverse the policy and apologise to Nigerians for the hardship inflicted, reiterating that the president should “take Atiku’s message and leave the messenger.” The intervention adds to growing pressure on the administration to mitigate the impact of economic reforms on vulnerable populations.
