Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 presidential election, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the fuel subsidy crisis, referring to him as “TPain” in a tweet on Thursday.
Atiku described the current economic challenges facing Nigeria as the “haphazard and disingenuous approach” of the Tinubu administration to fuel subsidy management.
In his statement on his X page, Atiku expressed concern about the escalating inflation rate, stating that it is severely impacting the lives of Nigerians.
He bemoaned that despite the growing hardships, Tinubu appears unfazed by the plight of the citizens.
“It is even more worrying that T-pain is undisturbed by the hardship in the country,” Atiku wrote.
The nickname ‘TPain’ for Tinubu arose as a play on the initial letter of his name and the name of American rapper and producer T-Pain, inspired by dissatisfaction with the rising expense of living under his administration.
According to the People’s Gazette, the phrase was first mentioned on social media in April 2024.
However, it gained traction around September 16, when a member on X used it in a discussion about the President’s visit to Maiduguri to comfort flood victims.
The word has gained popularity on sites such as X and Instagram.
