Kayode Fayemi Likens Atiku’s Subsidy Stance to APC’s 2023 Strategy

​Former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Etim Fayemi has drawn a sharp parallel between Atiku Abubakar’s stance on fuel subsidy and the controversial Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket deployed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 general elections, dismissing both as calculated political gambits rather than sound economic policies.

​Speaking during an appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time program, Fayemi dissected the political landscape leading up to the 2027 presidential race. He argued that the opposition figure’s promises to revisit or restore the petrol subsidy are designed primarily to capitalize on public angst, mirroring how the APC leveraged identity politics to secure victory.

​“My take on that is that Atiku’s proposal of subsidy is politically equivalent to our own Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2023. It’s a political strategy. It’s not an economic construct,” Fayemi stated.

​While offering a critical perspective on the political utility of the policy, the former Minister of Solid Minerals Development maintained his long-standing position as an advocate for subsidy elimination. Reflecting on his tenure as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, he noted that he spent years pushing for the reform, asserting that the current administration ultimately inherited a framework that was already substantially completed.

​At the same time, Fayemi did not absolve the incumbent government of missteps, noting that his primary reservation lay in the chaotic execution of the policy. According to him, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum had previously collaborated with the Federal Government and the World Bank to engineer robust social safety nets designed to cushion vulnerable populations from the immediate shock of subsidy removal.

ADVERTISEMENT

​He conceded that the resulting economic hardship has left ordinary citizens indifferent to technical economic arguments, rendering them prime targets for populist political messaging.

​“They just want to live reasonably well, eke out a living, have one or two meals a day, be able to send their kids to school, not be taken in by sickness or anything that might create further problems for them,” Fayemi observed.

​Linking the broader socio-economic crisis directly to the nation’s security challenges, the former governor warned that unaddressed poverty and widening inequality remain the primary drivers behind ongoing insurgency and banditry across the country.