….Nigeria Not Working Because Of Tinubu’s Trial-And-Error Policies – Atiku
……Tinubu has achieved a lot in one year, says APC support group
….Buhari urges Nigerians to support Tinubu
As President Bola Tinubu marks his first anniversary, the Labour Party (LP) lawmakers have knocked the current administration, describing it as one filled with empty promises.
The minority caucus also berated the President for the rising insecurity and economic hardship in the country, saying it negates Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda campaign he promised Nigerians.
“What we see, in actual sense, are failed promises,” said the leader of the caucus, Afam Ogene.
“But now, we hasten to ask, has Nigerians seen any indication of fulfillment of those promises? On the contrary, the ordinary man on the street is weeping and wailing, with pervasive hunger hunting millions of homes.”
The lawmakers said Tinubu promised a “bold and assertive policy that will create a strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism from the face of our nation”.
“Given the security situation today, this appears to be a mere rhapsody of rhetoric, making many believe that the administration lacks an effective security strategy, as Nigerians are bogged down by incessant abductions, displacements, and massacres by non-state actors across the nation,” the caucus said.
The legislators asked the President to urgently prioritise minimising the suffering of Nigerians by ensuring food security, access to clean water, healthcare, and education.
“Tackling poverty and guaranteeing these necessities are pivotal to the sustenance of peace in the nation.
“We also call on the government to intensify the fight against corruption, with transparent governance and accountability being paramount.
“We also warn that the government should desist from throwing the nation to the whims of foreign financial institutions, whose policies in developing countries are often anti-people,” the caucus said.
Atiku: Nigeria Not Working Because Of Tinubu’s Trial-And-Error Policies
Also, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu over economic policies he introduced in the past one year in his office saying they have been detrimental to the living conditions of the poor, the rich and foreign investors.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2023 elections, said Tinubu’s economic programmes have only succeeded to “pauperise the poor and bankrupt the rich”.
He said this in a statement issued to review the President’s one year in office.
Atiku condemned the policies, stressing that they have failed to create prosperity, but created a hostile environment for businesses.
“President Tinubu’s policies do not create prosperity. Instead, they pauperize the poor and bankrupt the rich. They spare no one. Nigerian citizens, the majority of whom are poor, are going through the worst cost-of-living crisis since the infamous structural adjustment programme of the 1980s.
“The annual inflation rate at 33.69% is the highest in nearly 3 decades. Food prices are unbearably higher than what ordinary citizens can afford as food inflation soared to 40.53% in April, the highest in more than 15 years.
“President Tinubu’s policies create a hostile environment for businesses, big or small. The private sector is overwhelmed by Tinubu’s dismal policies and overburdened by his failure to address the policy fallouts.
“The manufacturing sector, which holds the key to higher incomes, jobs, and economic growth, has been bogged down by rising input prices, higher energy and borrowing costs, and exchange rate complexities.”
He further criticised his main rival in the 2023 presidential election for implementing policies that have driven foreign investments out of Nigeria since he assumed office a year ago on May 29, 2023.
Atiku blamed the loss of foreign companies to other countries on the free-float leading to devaluation of naira.
He added that Tinubu’s foreign exchange policies had not had any positive impact on Nigeria’s foreign trade balance, contrary to policy expectations.
“In particular, the free-float and the resulting devaluation of the naira has not resulted in an appreciable improvement in Nigeria’s trade balance,” he stated.
“President Tinubu’s policies have failed to attract foreign investments into the country despite all the posturing and media hype by the President’s men. Time is running out for the government, and Tinubu must act fast to save the economy.”
Recently, Atiku revealed that a merger between him and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, is possible to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress in 2027.
The opposition leader said the scenario has created a hostile environment for businesses across the country with many companies exiting the country, listing some of the companies as, “Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Procter & Gamble (P&G), Sanofi-Aventi Nigeria, Bolt Food, Equinor, among others had exited Nigeria citing reasons including foreign exchange complexities, security concerns, and high operational costs.”
He said, according to the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), nearly 20,000 jobs may have been lost due to the departure of 15 multinational companies from Nigeria.
Tinubu has achieved a lot in one year, says APC support group
The Almagamated of All Progressives Congress (APC) support group on Tuesday, May 28, affirmed that President Bola Tinubu has performed well within his one year in office.
The group, however, pleaded with Nigerians to continue to support the president for more dividends of democracy.
It also called on President Tinubu to create more incentives to encourage women entrepreneurship at the grassroots to support the poverty alleviation program of the renewed hope agenda.
A frontline aspirant for the position of the director general of the support group, Alhaji Salman Akorede said this while briefing reporters on the first year of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Akorede said they recognise that the first 12 months have been turbulent, given the very bold steps that the administration has taken in the formulation and implementation of very tough economic reform policies
He said they are very optimistic, that gradually, the reforms are yielding results with the value of their local currency maintaining some reasonable level of stability, compared to the previous months when the Naira witnessed a daily crash to the dollar
He said: “We must also admit that the inflation rates are still very high, thus skyrocketing the prices of essential commodities almost beyond affordability, this must be addressed as quickly as possible, to bring some succour to the masses who are most hit by the attendant hardships
“While we acknowledge some improvement in the area of security, there’s much more to be done to curb the menace of bandits and armed robbery that are still wreaking havoc in many communities across the nation
“We suggest that the government undertakes a comprehensive review of the nation’s security architecture with a view to upgrading capacity to effectively tackle security challenges in the country”.
Akorede further said that they wish to remind President Tinubu that the bulk of their members, who were his foot soldiers during the campaigns are still languishing with no reward or, recognition from the government
He said that while this may not be a deliberate act of commission or omission on the part of the government, they feel this requires very urgent attention, now, as the race for the 2027 general elections has begun in earnest.
“The role and importance of the support groups cannot and should not be downplayed by an incumbent interested in securing a second term of office.
“We have observed, quite painfully how, the lack of inclusion of support group members in government, has not only alienated us from the government we worked hard to bring on board, but, also, has created a bug gulf, which the opponents are exploiting to dominate the public space with negative narratives about the government, giving it a very unpalatable public perception among the people
“We do not need to stress the point that all the negative backlashes and public outrage being directed at our government are a result of the absence of the real foot soldiers who would have been better placed to publicise and defend the government, had their potential been tapped and deployed to effective use by the government,” he said.
He said that they must admit that despite the remarkable work that has been done by this government in the last one year, it is public perception is not on the high side, and this should be a course of worry.
“In our view, there is very low, or, near absence of the involvement of party and supporters in the running of the affairs of government, which has made the APC administration vulnerable on all fronts giving the opposition a free reign
“This cannot be allowed to continue unchecked if the project 2027, is to succeed. We therefore urge Mr President to remember his promise to reward loyalty and hard work, by immediately setting machinery in motion for the inclusion of the support group members in his administration
“We also would like to appeal to the party to speed up action towards ensuring the conduct of a credible election for the Amalgamated APC Support Groups. Time is no longer on our side,” he said.
One year in office: Buhari urges Nigerians to support Tinubu
Meanwhile, former President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his best wishes to President Bola Tinubu on the completion of his first year in office.
The former President in a statement issued by Mallam Garba Shehu, on Tuesday, appealed to all citizens to continue to strengthen the thread of national unity and goodwill.
He also appealed to them to give their blessings and support to the Tinubu administration so that it can succeed in its efforts to build a Nigeria of our dreams.
President Buhari expressed his wish for a successful tenure in office by the Tinubu administration
