The Allied People’s Movement (APM) has asked the President Bola Tinubu-led government to immediately publish a “detailed, independently verifiable account” of the trillions of naira realised from the removal of the fuel subsidy since May 2023.
In a statement on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, the party said its demand is based on the “worsening economic hardship, high cost of living, collapsed public facilities and yawning infrastructure deficit across the country since the emergence of the Tinubu administration, despite over ₦20 trillion in proceeds from the removal of the fuel subsidy”.
The APM noted that since President Tinubu’s May 29, 2023, declaration that ‘subsidy is gone’, Nigerians have endured unprecedented hardship.
“This came with an instant surge in fuel price from below ₦200 per litre to now over ₦1,500 per litre, setting off a chain reaction that pushed transport fares, food prices, school fees, medical bills, house rents, electricity costs and the prices of everyday goods far beyond the reach of ordinary citizens,” the statement read in part.
The party cited reports of “massive corruption, diversion and frittering of the bulk of the funds accruable to the Federal Government while officials continue to bandy figures and fictitious achievements”.
“Under the APC administration, hunger has become a national emergency. Millions of families are going without daily meals. Small businesses are collapsing under rising operating costs. The purchasing power of workers has been abysmally degraded, while poverty and unemployment continue to rise at alarming rates,” the opposition party said.
“Today, under the APC, Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit has hit an estimated $2.3 trillion, with experts stating that the gap would require approximately $100 billion annually over the next 30 years.”
The APM argued that despite the heavy premiums citizens pay daily, “no comprehensive public record has been presented to demonstrate how much has been spent and whether those expenditures have translated into measurable improvements”.
“The vague claims by the APC government that the proceeds are being invested in critical sectors without real figures and specific projects are completely unacceptable,” the party noted. “The true measure of any economic reform is not the volume of official pronouncements but its tangible impact on the lives of the people.”
The APM therefore called on the Tinubu administration to “rise above political rhetoric and immediately release a comprehensive public report detailing the total subsidy savings, all expenditures made from the fund, the beneficiaries of every intervention, and the measurable outcomes achieved.”
