APM to Tinubu: You’re paying fuel subsidy through back door

By Luminous Jannamike

The Allied People’s Movement (APM) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of paying fuel subsidy through the back door, questioning the recent petrol price reduction despite the government’s declaration that subsidy was gone.

The party also dismissed Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele’s warning that restoring subsidy could push the naira to ₦4,000 per dollar, describing the projection as unfounded and accusing the government’s economic policies of driving businesses into closure.

APM National Secretary, Ayodele Adebayo, stated this in a response to Vanguard’s inquiries, faulting the administration’s handling of fuel prices and its claims about investors’ loss of confidence in opposition parties.

“What are they doing now with the current reduction in petrol price for one month? Is it not returning subsidy through the back door?” Adebayo asked.

He argued that the naira had previously exchanged at a stronger rate, rejecting the minister’s projection as an attempt to justify the government’s position on subsidy.

Adebayo also challenged Oyedele’s claim that investors had written off opposition parties as unserious, alleging that harsh economic policies had forced several companies to shut down.

“Where are even the investors that the Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, is talking about? Is it the recycled ones by the present administration?” he queried.

The APM secretary said his party favoured an appropriate pricing framework for petroleum products to prevent further hardship, insisting that Nigerians should not be left with little money after paying for fuel.

“We cannot subscribe to seeing Nigerians use all their entitlements and earnings to buy fuel due to harsh economic policies,” Adebayo said.