‘How does Tinubu sleep at night?’ Pat Utomi blasts president over poverty, N1,300 petrol as Libya sells at N32

Political economist and former presidential candidate, Professor Pat Utomi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, questioning how the president sleeps while millions of Nigerians struggle with rising living costs.

In a video shared on his X account on Friday, Utomi compared fuel prices and wages in Nigeria with those in other oil-producing countries.

According to his statement published on X, he cited Libya, Saudi Arabia and Norway as examples of countries where citizens receive greater benefits from petroleum resources.

“A litre of fuel in Libya costs ₦32, while the minimum wage in the country is $208, which is roughly ₦276,000. In Saudi Arabia, a litre of fuel costs approximately ₦823, while the estimated monthly minimum wage is ₦1.4 million,” he said.

Utomi contrasted those figures with Nigeria’s ₦70,000 minimum wage and petrol prices he placed between ₦1,300 and ₦1,900 per litre.

“Anyone earning ₦100,000 a month in Nigeria is still struggling to make ends meet and may be closer to the poverty line than their counterparts in these countries. But does the President care? How does he even sleep at night, knowing that millions of Nigerians are struggling to survive in a country blessed with abundant natural resources?”

He also questioned the purchasing power of university lecturers, arguing that electricity and transportation costs consume much of their earnings.

“They work for some government university. It’s probably at best for N500,000 in a month. And they probably live in an area where power will take up N150,000, maybe N200,000 of that money. How is it possible that people are still alive and going?”

His remarks follow the removal of petrol subsidies in May 2023 and changes to Nigeria’s foreign exchange system, policies associated with significant price increases.

Utomi cited research indicating worsening poverty and rising food, transport and housing costs across the country. The international wage and fuel comparisons he presented were his own figures and were not independently verified.

He has previously described the administration’s economic approach as a “Ponzi scheme” and called for policies supporting domestic refining, affordability and productive investment.

The presidency has previously defended its reforms as necessary for longer-term economic stability, while acknowledging short-term hardship.