The Presidency on Sunday accused the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, of exploiting the suffering of Nigerians for political gains.

A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, in a statement, lashed out at Mr Abubakar, who faulted President Bola Tinubu’s 30-day discount on petrol at NNPC fuel stations for Nigerians.

Mr Atiku, a former vice president, also described Mr Tinubu as a dull student who copied classmate’s answer alongside name.

“Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s recent press conference in Abuja—where he attacked NNPC Retail’s 30-day discount on petrol price and a modulation framework—is a seminal example of shallow, election-laced demagoguery,” the presidency said. 

It added, “Atiku “Kachalla,” totally unplugged from global realities and consumed by an unbridled lust for power, is a Lone Ranger.”

Likening Mr Tinubu’s 30-day discount of petrol to interventions of leaders in the United Kingdom and U.S. amid rising cost of energy globally, the presidency said, “In close to 10 other countries, leaders are employing various means to provide relief for citizens. But in Nigeria, a President offers the same, and a misguided presidential candidate chooses to dance on the sufferings of Nigerians and exploit it for political gains.”

The presidency noted that Mr Abubakar’s criticisms and “calling a calibrated, multi-layered economic stabilisation strategy a “panic-driven gimmick” revealed more than partisan bitterness, adding “It exposes a profound, structural ignorance of global energy dynamics, fiscal mechanics, and the plain arithmetic of modern Nigeria.”

It added, “Atiku’s soundbite-driven critique relies on emotional bait, trying to buy future votes with cheap sentimental appeals while ignoring the structural rot that President Tinubu’s administration has systematically dismantled over the last three years.c

According to the presidency, Mr Atiku’s attempt to position himself as the “smart student” teaching economic policy fell apart under even light scrutiny.

It stated, “First, it is sheer absurdity that a man who graduated from a school of hygiene dares to call a first-class accounting graduate a dull student.

“Second, Atiku’s proposal for a blanket “production subsidy” is not an alternative economic model—it is a dangerous mathematical fantasy wrapped in political deceit. Unhinged, Atiku Abubakar arrogantly claims that President Tinubu copied his economic homework while stripping away the core element that makes it work: the “production subsidy.”

In his earlier statement, Mr Abubakar said Mr Tinubu’s government was offering a meager 30-day discount after “It has made life unbearable and called it reform.”

He stated, “You have demanded painful sacrifices from the people while you, your family, and friends are junketing all over the place. Wait a minute, Bola… You have borrowed the idea but missed the lesson. You heard “production subsidy” and reduced it to a 30-day gesture. 

“Bola, you are like a dull student who copied his classmate’s answer so blindly that he copied the classmate’s name at the top of his exam paper and then demanded marks for original thinking. You copied my production subsidy proposal, stripped away the part that makes it work, and handed Nigerians a 30-day discount. Where is the rest of the answer? Bola, you see why it is good to go to school.”