Former Vice President and the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has described the present administration's policies of appropriate exchange rate, cost effective electricity tariff and PMS price, at one and the same time as an overkill.

The former Vice President in a statement released on Sunday and personally signed said removing subsidy on PMS and other Petroleum products without a stable exchange rate would be counterproductive.

Atiku, in the statement tagged "What we would have done differently", said he would have been more strategic in response to reform fallouts and wouldn't have over-estimated the efficacy of reform measures or underestimate the potential costs.

He said he has been inundated with inquiries of what he would have done differently, adding however that the focus should be on Tinubu and not any other person.

Atiku hinted that he would have prioritised fighting corruption with the repositioning of NNPCL which is a huge beneficiary of the status quo, before paying particular attention to Nigeria's poor refining infrastructure.

Atiku further explained that he would have adopted a gradualist approach in the implementation of the subsidy.

Atiku recalled that the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo adopted a gradualist approach and had completed phases 1 and 2 of the reform before the tenure ended.

"Fighting corruption should have commenced with the repositioning of the NNPCL, which is a huge beneficiary of the status quo.

"Its commitment to reform and capacity to implement and enforce reforms is suspect. The subsidy regime has provided an avenue for rent seeking, and the NNPCL and its guardians will be threatened by reforms.

"Second, paying particular attention to Nigeria’s poor refining infrastructure. We are by far the most inefficient OPEC member country in terms of both the percentage of installed refining capacity that works and the percentage of crude refined.

"We would’ve commenced the privatization of all state-owned refineries and ensure that Nigeria starts to refine at least 50% of its current crude oil output.

"Nigeria should aspire to export 50% of that capacity to ECOWAS member states.

"Third, adopt a gradualist approach in the implementation of the subsidy reforms. Subsidies would not have been removed suddenly and completely.

"It is instructive that when I was Vice President, we adopted a gradualist approach and had completed phases 1 and 2 of the reform before our tenure ended. The incoming administration in 2007 abandoned the reforms, unfortunately.

"The majority of the countries that review or rationalize subsidy payments adopt a gradualist approach by phasing price increases or shifting from universal to targeted approach (Malaysia, 2022 and Indonesia, 2022 -2023).

"In many EU economies, complete withdrawal often takes 5 years to effect. The gradualist approach allows for adjustments, adaptation and minimizes disruptions and vulnerability.

"Fourth, implement a robust social protection programme that will support the poor in navigating the cost-of-living challenges arising largely from reform implementation.

"We would’ve invested the savings from subsidy withdrawal to strengthen the productive base of the economy through infrastructure maintenance and development; to improve outcomes in education and healthcare delivery; to improve rural infrastructure and support livelihood expansion in agriculture; and develop the skills and entrepreneurial capacity of our youth in order to enhance their access to better economic opportunities."

Details later...