You might agree with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s plan to restore petrol subsidy if elected, when you consider the hardship that trails its removal, and the failure of many state and local governments to use their increased revenue from the Federation Account to improve the lives of their people.Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the forthcoming 2027 General Elections, introduced the planned reversal of his 2023 presidential campaign promise to remove petrol subsidy with the phrase, “I did not initially oppose the removal of subsidy.”When he asked, “Now that (subsidy) has been removed, where is the money,” he unwittingly demonstrated that his prolonged stay in Dubai prevents him from realising that all governments now receive significantly higher remittances from the Federation Account after the subsidy removal.He declared, “If I win the (2027) presidential election, I will restore the subsidy,” and threatened, “Anyone who stole Nigeria’s subsidy funds must return the money,” with the argument that “If the funds were used to improve healthcare, education, security and youth empowerment, things would have been better.”After his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, dismissed as “unauthorised and misleading characterisation” the claims that Abubakar would restore petrol subsidy before phasing it out, by Peter Ibe, another media aide, who probably thinks subsidy should be removed, Abubakar doubled down with the declaration, “When I said (sic) I would return the fuel subsidy, I will.”His “creative” subsidy plan to sell crude petroleum to local refineries below the agreed international market price doesn’t seem to recognise the upset it might cause to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel.Also, he is probably unaware that Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited is currently unable to supply the petroleum requirements of Dangote Refinery, the country’s current biggest producer of petroleum products.Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, who took a circumlocution route to saying he wouldn’t return petrol subsidy, finally said, “I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy.”He argued that “Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” before suggesting that “When we remove the subsidy, we should have given the people the alternative usage for the subsidy.”He alleged, “What we have today is that… the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” and he pledged, “We will do it in an organised manner, and whatever we recover will be invested appropriately.”Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the forthcoming 2027 General Elections, introduced the planned reversal of his 2023 presidential campaign promise to remove petrol subsidy with the phrase, “I did not initially oppose the removal of subsidy.”When he asked, “Now that (subsidy) has been removed, where is the money,” he unwittingly demonstrated that his prolonged stay in Dubai prevents him from realising that all governments now receive significantly higher remittances from the Federation Account after the subsidy removal.He declared, “If I win the (2027) presidential election, I will restore the subsidy,” and threatened, “Anyone who stole Nigeria’s subsidy funds must return the money,” with the argument that “If the funds were used to improve healthcare, education, security and youth empowerment, things would have been better.”After his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, dismissed as “unauthorised and misleading characterisation” the claims that Abubakar would restore petrol subsidy before phasing it out, by Peter Ibe, another media aide, who probably thinks subsidy should be removed, Abubakar doubled down with the declaration, “When I said (sic) I would return the fuel subsidy, I will.”His “creative” subsidy plan to sell crude petroleum to local refineries below the agreed international market price doesn’t seem to recognise the upset it might cause to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel.Also, he is probably unaware that Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited is currently unable to supply the petroleum requirements of Dangote Refinery, the country’s current biggest producer of petroleum products.Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, who took a circumlocution route to saying he wouldn’t return petrol subsidy, finally said, “I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy.”He argued that “Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” before suggesting that “When we remove the subsidy, we should have given the people the alternative usage for the subsidy.”He alleged, “What we have today is that… the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” and he pledged, “We will do it in an organised manner, and whatever we recover will be invested appropriately.”Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com When he asked, “Now that (subsidy) has been removed, where is the money,” he unwittingly demonstrated that his prolonged stay in Dubai prevents him from realising that all governments now receive significantly higher remittances from the Federation Account after the subsidy removal.He declared, “If I win the (2027) presidential election, I will restore the subsidy,” and threatened, “Anyone who stole Nigeria’s subsidy funds must return the money,” with the argument that “If the funds were used to improve healthcare, education, security and youth empowerment, things would have been better.”After his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, dismissed as “unauthorised and misleading characterisation” the claims that Abubakar would restore petrol subsidy before phasing it out, by Peter Ibe, another media aide, who probably thinks subsidy should be removed, Abubakar doubled down with the declaration, “When I said (sic) I would return the fuel subsidy, I will.”His “creative” subsidy plan to sell crude petroleum to local refineries below the agreed international market price doesn’t seem to recognise the upset it might cause to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel.Also, he is probably unaware that Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited is currently unable to supply the petroleum requirements of Dangote Refinery, the country’s current biggest producer of petroleum products.Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, who took a circumlocution route to saying he wouldn’t return petrol subsidy, finally said, “I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy.”He argued that “Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” before suggesting that “When we remove the subsidy, we should have given the people the alternative usage for the subsidy.”He alleged, “What we have today is that… the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” and he pledged, “We will do it in an organised manner, and whatever we recover will be invested appropriately.”Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com He declared, “If I win the (2027) presidential election, I will restore the subsidy,” and threatened, “Anyone who stole Nigeria’s subsidy funds must return the money,” with the argument that “If the funds were used to improve healthcare, education, security and youth empowerment, things would have been better.”After his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, dismissed as “unauthorised and misleading characterisation” the claims that Abubakar would restore petrol subsidy before phasing it out, by Peter Ibe, another media aide, who probably thinks subsidy should be removed, Abubakar doubled down with the declaration, “When I said (sic) I would return the fuel subsidy, I will.”His “creative” subsidy plan to sell crude petroleum to local refineries below the agreed international market price doesn’t seem to recognise the upset it might cause to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel.Also, he is probably unaware that Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited is currently unable to supply the petroleum requirements of Dangote Refinery, the country’s current biggest producer of petroleum products.Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, who took a circumlocution route to saying he wouldn’t return petrol subsidy, finally said, “I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy.”He argued that “Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” before suggesting that “When we remove the subsidy, we should have given the people the alternative usage for the subsidy.”He alleged, “What we have today is that… the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” and he pledged, “We will do it in an organised manner, and whatever we recover will be invested appropriately.”Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com After his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, dismissed as “unauthorised and misleading characterisation” the claims that Abubakar would restore petrol subsidy before phasing it out, by Peter Ibe, another media aide, who probably thinks subsidy should be removed, Abubakar doubled down with the declaration, “When I said (sic) I would return the fuel subsidy, I will.”His “creative” subsidy plan to sell crude petroleum to local refineries below the agreed international market price doesn’t seem to recognise the upset it might cause to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel.Also, he is probably unaware that Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited is currently unable to supply the petroleum requirements of Dangote Refinery, the country’s current biggest producer of petroleum products.Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, who took a circumlocution route to saying he wouldn’t return petrol subsidy, finally said, “I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy.”He argued that “Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” before suggesting that “When we remove the subsidy, we should have given the people the alternative usage for the subsidy.”He alleged, “What we have today is that… the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” and he pledged, “We will do it in an organised manner, and whatever we recover will be invested appropriately.”Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com His “creative” subsidy plan to sell crude petroleum to local refineries below the agreed international market price doesn’t seem to recognise the upset it might cause to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel.Also, he is probably unaware that Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited is currently unable to supply the petroleum requirements of Dangote Refinery, the country’s current biggest producer of petroleum products.Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, who took a circumlocution route to saying he wouldn’t return petrol subsidy, finally said, “I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy.”He argued that “Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” before suggesting that “When we remove the subsidy, we should have given the people the alternative usage for the subsidy.”He alleged, “What we have today is that… the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” and he pledged, “We will do it in an organised manner, and whatever we recover will be invested appropriately.”Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Also, he is probably unaware that Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited is currently unable to supply the petroleum requirements of Dangote Refinery, the country’s current biggest producer of petroleum products.Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, who took a circumlocution route to saying he wouldn’t return petrol subsidy, finally said, “I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy.”He argued that “Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” before suggesting that “When we remove the subsidy, we should have given the people the alternative usage for the subsidy.”He alleged, “What we have today is that… the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” and he pledged, “We will do it in an organised manner, and whatever we recover will be invested appropriately.”Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, who took a circumlocution route to saying he wouldn’t return petrol subsidy, finally said, “I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy.”He argued that “Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” before suggesting that “When we remove the subsidy, we should have given the people the alternative usage for the subsidy.”He alleged, “What we have today is that… the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” and he pledged, “We will do it in an organised manner, and whatever we recover will be invested appropriately.”Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com He argued that “Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” before suggesting that “When we remove the subsidy, we should have given the people the alternative usage for the subsidy.”He alleged, “What we have today is that… the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” and he pledged, “We will do it in an organised manner, and whatever we recover will be invested appropriately.”Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com He alleged, “What we have today is that… the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” and he pledged, “We will do it in an organised manner, and whatever we recover will be invested appropriately.”Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress, thinks that removal of subsidy from petrol affects only the poor masses, while the rich enjoy subsidy in the form of tariff waivers.President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com President Bola Tinubu, who once offered Abubakar the presidential ticket of his former Action Congress political party, retorted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal “is a demonstration of a serious ignorance on (sic) governance and the economy,” and pointed out that “Before I (be)came (President), 27 states were unable to pay (workers’) salaries, not even to talk of pensioners.”Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, submitted that Abubakar’s doctrinal reversal was made because he is “desperate for power.” He added, “Even though (Atiku) used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated (prior) to his defeat in the 2023 (presidential) election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade.”A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com A reflective Prof Nentawe Yitwada, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, avers that “Economic policy cannot be reduced to election-season promises,” and asked, “What sectors will bear the cost and whether such a policy can be sustained without reopening the fiscal pressures that necessitated (the) reform in the first place?”As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com As he cautions that “Nigerians should carefully examine competing economic programmes ahead of the 2027 elections,” he criticised the opposition’s seeming lack of ideological consistency and (needlessly) accuses them of continually switching political parties.Related NewsRenewed Hope Ambassadors will partner campaign council for Tinubu’s reelection –UzodimmaAtiku’s suit against Tinubu’s 2027 bid stalls over service2027: Turaki PDP backs opposition push to oust TinubuBut, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com But, in truth, it does seem as if Abubakar’s new position is not exactly a result of a genuine believe that subsidy must be returned, but just one of those brinkmanship games that Nigerian politicians play just to access power.You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com You may recall that even President Tinubu once disagreed with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of petrol subsidy in 2011, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi admitted that it was “all politics” at that time.But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com But the message in Abubakar’s new position should not be lost in the heat of politics. Truthful answers must be found for the questions: “How has the removal of the subsidy affected Nigerian citizens? Should it continue with the hope that things would improve, or should the[U1] [U2] policy be reversed?”Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Rating agency, Agusto & Co’s mid-July 2026 report indicates, “The official narrative of increasing stabilisation contrasts with the lived reality of (Nigerian) households (that are) battling shrinking incomes, high food prices, inadequate public services and worsening insecurity.”As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com As the World Bank and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics respectively claimed that 140 million and 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor, lacking access to finance, education, employment, basic healthcare, and good living conditions, there is an obvious disconnect between the government’s sanguine economic recovery claims and Nigerians’ harsh economic realities.Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Abubakar’s possible plan to use the return of the petrol subsidy to score a cheap political point is evident in Augusto & Co’s fear that the disconnect between the government’s economic statistics and Nigerians’ economic condition could undermine public confidence in the reform agenda and be used to defeat President Tinubu’s reelection bid.Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Because Nigerians’ economic survival matters more than the politics of who leads Nigeria, President Tinubu, former Vice President Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi, and any prospective leader should offer a more foundational economic pathway for Nigeria.While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com While opposition presidential candidates must not reduce the removal or retention of petrol subsidy to a pawn for scoring cheap political points, President Tinubu must tweak his economic reform policies to deliver positive existential values.If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com If the President wants his economic reform policy to run its full course, he must devise appropriate communications strategies to explain his remedial plans, including the recently launched $3.05bn pro-poor social investment and human development programme, to Nigerians who are understandably impatient.The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com The President should take judicious notice of the promise by Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of Accord Party, to peg the price of petrol to N605/N610 through a “creative” adjustment of the foreign exchange rate to somewhere between N525 and N700 to the US dollar.Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Also, anyone who wants to lead Nigeria should unveil concrete plans on insecurity, electricity, industrialisation, agriculture, railways, roads, urban planning, state police, and the much-avoided talk about restructuring.Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Instead of putting asinine content in the public space, the political elite that have continuously failed Nigerians woefully must change the trajectory of their political and economic engagements with the people who have been victims for far too long.Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com Nigeria’s existential issues have gone beyond the mundane to concrete discussions about how illiteracy, poverty, and disease will be permanently eradicated in a Nigeria that must use scientific, technological, and economic strategies to rise above poverty.It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com It’s a shame that Nigeria’s political elite only bicker among themselves, as they continuously demonstrate a lack of a common set of values necessary for the political, social, and economic emancipation of Nigerians.X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com