{
  "id": 14505534,
  "title": "Shettima mocks Atiku’s fuel subsidy plan, says it can’t balance budget",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/shettima-mocks-atikus-fuel-subsidy-plan-says-it-cant-balance-budget-14505534",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-14T18:12:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/shettima-mocks-atikus-fuel-subsidy-plan-says-it-cant-balance-budget/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Vice President Kashim Shettima ridiculed ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar's proposal for a production subsidy, stating that ideological shifts cannot balance a national budget. Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, had previously advocated for the subsidy to support domestic refining and production. Shettima accused Atiku of wearing the \"toga of capitalism\" and now sounding like \"the legitimate offspring of Vladimir Lenin.\" The VP questioned who would pay for the subsidy, who would benefit, and which competing priorities would have to surrender funding. He emphasized that political ambition is not merely the desire to hold public office, but a test of character, intellectual maturity, and responsibility.",
  "summary": "Vice President Kashim Shettima has ridiculed ex-VP Atiku Abubakar’s proposed production subsidy, saying a change of ideological wardrobe cannot balance a b Read More: https://punchng.com/shettima-mocks-atikus-fuel-subsidy-plan-says-it-cant-balance-budget/",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Shettima mocks Atiku’s fuel subsidy plan, says it can’t balance budget",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/shettima-mocks-atikus-fuel-subsidy-plan-says-it-cant-balance-budget",
        "published": "2026-10-14T18:06:54.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Post Nigeria",
        "title": "‘Atiku is no Abraham Lincoln, like Odinga’ – Shettima mocks ex-VP",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/atiku-is-no-abraham-lincoln-like-odinga-shettima-mocks-ex-vp",
        "published": "2026-10-14T18:21:38.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}