Adebayo Adenrele
Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies and approach to governance, saying they are not in the best interest of Nigerians.
Atiku, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said he cannot be jealous of a leader who inflict pains on his people.
He urged Tinubu to prioritize making life easier for Nigerians rather than attacking the opposition which is not in the saddle.
His words, “It is disheartening that during the last protests, some frustrated young Nigerians were waving Russian flags and calling on the military to take over. God forbid we return to those dark days, but leaders must not push their citizens to a point where citizens choose fire over frying pan.
“This should be Tinubu’s biggest concern instead of fiddling while the country burns.
“Even (former) President Muhammadu Buhari was not this brazen. Unlike Tinubu, Atiku is not a bigot.
“Tinubu was obviously unprepared for office. He acts first and thinks of the consequences afterwards. This was why he announced an abrupt removal of petrol subsidy without any cushions.
“After seeing the effect, he then hurriedly decided to push a CNG initiative, which even he and his ministers have not embraced, hence their refusal to use it.
“The CNG initiative has so far failed to fully kick off because of a lack of gas infrastructure in most states. The result is that transport costs continue to soar along with prices of food.
“In his mid-term expenditure framework, he projected the exchange rate at N700/$1 in 2024 and N650/$1 by 2025.
“Rather than sack his economic advisers, he continues to live in a fool’s paradise, deceiving Nigerians about the FX reserve of $40 billion when, in fact, the net reserves are less than 20% of that.
“Let the CBN release its financial statements of 2023 if he is sure of his achievements”.