Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has launched a fresh attack on the presidential candidates of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Shettima, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, said Atiku and Obi lacked the capacity to manage Nigeria’s economy.
Speaking specifically about fuel subsidy, Shettima said Nigeria had served as “Father Christmas” to other African countries during the petrol subsidy era.
According to him, the disparity between fuel prices in Nigeria and those in other African countries, including Benin Republic, Niger and Cameroon, was significant during the subsidy era.
“The comparison is wide. Nigeria was Father Christmas for other African countries,” he said.
Shettima argued that Atiku’s proposal on fuel subsidy showed that he lacked the skills required to govern Nigeria’s economy.
“So he doesn’t have the skill set to govern a modern economy. That’s a painful truth,” he said.
Speaking about Peter Obi, Shettima said the former Anambra State governor focused on statistics but had little to offer beyond them.
“I respect Peter Obi for having the courage to say he’s not going to restore the petrol subsidy, but beyond spouting some statistics, Mr Peter Obi has absolutely nothing to offer,” he said.
