The presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has called for an end to what he described as the poorly managed fuel subsidy regime and anti-people economic policies of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, arguing that Nigerians can no longer afford policies that deepen economic hardship while failing to deliver meaningful relief.
Duke, a former Governor of Cross River State, said the economic direction of the Tinubu administration had become a source of concern, insisting that the country needed to move beyond political exchanges and embrace carefully designed policies capable of stimulating economic growth, reducing poverty and improving the livelihoods of Nigerians.
In a statement seen by SaharaReporters on Saturday, Duke said the ongoing exchanges between the Tinubu administration and leading opposition parties demonstrated, in his assessment, that the Federal Government was not prepared to review or reconsider some of the policies that had defined its economic agenda.
“The ongoing exchanges between the Tinubu administration and the leading opposition parties is clear evidence that President Tinubu has no plans to review or change key anti-people policies that have become the hallmarks of his administration,” Duke said.
He specifically criticised the management of fuel subsidies, arguing that the system that existed before the Tinubu administration had not truly disappeared but had effectively been replaced with another arrangement that, in his view, continues to benefit governments while placing an additional burden on citizens and the wider economy.
“The fuel subsidy scam which had preceded the Tinubu administration has been replaced by the poorly-managed option which make money for governments and impoverishes citizens and the economy,” he said.
Duke’s criticism comes against the backdrop of continuing concerns over the cost of living, fuel prices, inflation and declining purchasing power, as Nigerians grapple with the consequences of rising living costs.
The PRP candidate maintained that the country could not continue with economic policies that, in his assessment, were failing to produce the growth and relief Nigerians urgently require.
“The nation must move beyond debates and adopt well-informed and strategically-designed options to the current economic policies can both address growth and alleviate crushing levels of poverty,” he said.
Duke further warned against maintaining what he described as the economic policies of the Tinubu administration, arguing that simply continuing along the same path would not produce the transformation required to strengthen the Nigerian economy.
“The Nigerian economy will not benefit from continuation of the Tinubu administration’s economic policies,” he declared.
He said the PRP would pursue a fundamentally different approach if elected, promising to place the country’s economic resources, productive capacity and the welfare of Nigerians at the centre of government policy.
“Under the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), sources of the strength of our economy will be reinforced by imaginative scrutiny, enlightened policies and livelihoods of Nigerians as priorities,” Duke said.
The former Cross River governor also argued that Nigeria required an administration capable of managing its resources and national assets more effectively, saying better management was essential to achieving sustainable growth and development.
“Nigerians deserve an administration that will respond to good management and growth and development of our assets,” he said.
Duke’s intervention adds another voice to the growing political contest over the direction of Nigeria’s economy ahead of the 2027 general elections, with opposition parties increasingly presenting alternative economic programmes as the country continues to confront widespread economic pressures.
For the PRP presidential candidate, the central issue is not merely whether the government can defend its policies, but whether those policies are producing tangible improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
His remarks therefore position the PRP as an alternative to the economic philosophy of the Tinubu administration, with Duke promising that, if elected, his government would prioritise enlightened policymaking, scrutiny of national resources, economic growth and the protection of livelihoods.