Nigeria, Aug. 21 -- The presidency has criticised ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar for saying he would restore some form of petrol subsidy if elected president next year.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga accused Atiku of being "desperate for power" by reversing his stance on subsidy removal, having been a proponent before the 2023 general elections.

"Even though he used to believe that the subsidy regime must be eliminated, a point he canvassed in the run-up to his defeat in the 2023 election, he has now opportunistically recanted the major plank of his economic doctrine and turned a renegade," he wrote.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Atiku clarified his stance in an interview on Wednesday.

Read Mr Onanuga's full statement below.

Alh...