Atiku’s Fuel Subsidy Position Sparks War of Words Between Sunday Dare, ADC Spokesperson

A fresh war of words has erupted between Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, and the spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, over former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s position on fuel subsidy reforms.

Dare criticised Atiku’s stance, arguing that true leadership requires the courage to defend difficult but fundamental reforms, rather than appealing to popular sentiments for political gain.

In a statement, Dare accused Atiku of hypocrisy and described his position as an attempt to exploit public dissatisfaction with the government’s economic reforms.

“True leadership requires the courage to defend difficult, foundational reforms even when the political weather is rough, rather than pandering to populist illusions for ballot-box validation,” Dare said.

He further described Atiku’s position as an “insult to the collective intelligence” of Nigerians and expressed confidence that what he called the former vice president’s “desperate gambit” would fail.

However, Abdullahi responded sharply, urging Dare to focus on explaining the government’s policies to Nigerians rather than trading insults.

“My brother, Sunny, take am easy o. It’s not enough to throw insults around and gaslight Nigerians,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC spokesperson argued that the Tinubu administration had had three years to demonstrate to Nigerians why the removal of fuel subsidy was necessary and beneficial.

“You guys had three years to demonstrate to Nigerians how the removal of fuel subsidy makes sense. You did not,” he said.

Abdullahi also rejected the description of Nigerians’ response to the economic hardship as “resilience,” accusing the government of mocking citizens who are struggling with the impact of the reforms.

He said Atiku was proposing an alternative approach, adding that the response from government officials suggested that they were uncomfortable with the proposal.

The ADC spokesperson also challenged Dare and the Tinubu administration to revisit the President’s past criticism of former President Goodluck Jonathan over an attempted fuel subsidy removal in 2012.

“Watch the video of BAT attacking Jonathan for attempting to remove this same subsidy in 2012,” Abdullahi said.