Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has explained how National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole frustrated the Olusegun Obasanjo administration’s efforts to end the fuel subsidy regime.
He made the claim in a series of tweets via his verified Twitter handle on Saturday evening a day after the Muhammadu Buhari administration declared that it was handing off fixing of pump price of petroleum products.
Atiku had hailed the move on Friday, describing the fuel subsidy regime as riddled with corruption.
However, in a series of tweets on Saturday, he said the administration in which he served as second citizen between 1999 and 2007 would have ended fuel subsidy if Oshiomhole was not vehemently opposed to it as National President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
Atiku stated this while replying a tweet by his spokesmen, Paul Ibe, which read: “For the avoidance of doubt, the Obasanjo administration embarked on a regime of subsidy removal. But the former NLC Chairman frustrated the efforts. Even at that, the Obasanjo government achieved some measure of subsidy removal before their exit in 2007.”
In his reply, Atiku wrote, “The Obasanjo government in which I served commenced a phased subsidy withdrawal. I was tasked with negotiating with then NLC Chairman and current APC Chairman who stood strongly against it.
“Nonetheless, we achieved two phases of subsidy removal of fuel and complete withdrawal of subsidy of diesel before we left office.”
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