The Presidency last night lampooned former Vice President
and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the
February 25, 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, over his criticism of
President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The Presidency said that the former Vice President has
assumed the position of opposition-in-chief to President Tinubu and his government.
It also said that Atiku’s claim that the government’s
policies have created intense cost of living pressures are not grounded on
facts, claiming that recent comparative cost of living indices showed that
Nigerians still enjoy the lowest cost of living in Africa.
These were contained in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga,
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, titled, “Atiku
Abubakar and his new hobby.”
The Presidency said while President Tinubu and his able team
are working very hard to make our country better, ensure our economy is
stronger and more competitive, Atiku Abubakar and his cohorts may continue to
belly ache.
The statement read: “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has certainly
found a new hobby to keep himself busy, having failed to achieve his lifelong
ambition of becoming the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is
increasingly carving for himself the role of opposition-in-chief to President
Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government.
“However, we notice that the former Vice-President, just
like in his political contests, is also doing a poor job of it, offering
pedestrian and uninformed interventions on our economy and other matters of
public concerns.
“Atiku’s latest diatribe was another uncharitable commentary
on the state of the economy and the efforts of the President Bola Tinubu
administration in remoulding it for sustained prosperity.
“Nigerians can easily see through the hypocrisy of Alhaji
Atiku, who in accusing President Tinubu of poor response to the nation’s
challenges and causing pains and despair, didn’t offer any better policy
options in his run for the Presidency different from the economic reform agenda
being pursued by President Tinubu.
“All the major candidates agreed that the fuel subsidy
regime, which had become an albatross on the economy, must end. They all agreed
that the multiple exchange rates must be fixed. Where President Tinubu and
Atiku differed was in selling NNPC Limited and other national assets. Atiku went
for this so he could sell these important national assets to his friends and
cronies.
“President Tinubu removed the subsidy from Day One and
announced moves to harmonise the exchange rates. Since then, he and his
economic team have been working vigorously to harmonise the rates and also end
the rampant and criminal arbitrage that the multiple windows allowed.”
According to the statement, President Tinubu acknowledged,
on different occasions, that the reforms his government is implementing will
cause immediate pains, but will usher in an era of prosperity in the medium and
long terms.
It said, “Minus Atiku, reputable local and international
agencies who understand the situation the Tinubu administration found itself
have commended the administration, having seen a policy trajectory that is
clearly positive, realistic and sustainable.
Atiku’s claims that the private sector is shrinking and that
multinational companies are leaving our companies in ‘droves’ are not grounded
on facts.
“His claim that the government’s policies have created
intense cost of living pressures are also not grounded on facts as recent
comparative cost of living indices show that Nigerians still enjoy the lowest
cost of living in Africa.
“Instead of mouthing platitudes every time in a bid to earn
cheap political mileage, Alhaji Atiku who presumes himself as the leader of
opposition should tell Nigerians what he would have done better if he had been
elected President.”
The statement told the former Vice President to be honest
enough to admit that President Tinubu inherited a weak economy, which to all
intents and purposes and to ensure the survival of the country needs a complete
overhaul.
It said, “The economy was plagued by decades of significant
fiscal deficits, a low revenue base, high external and domestic debts, and huge
debt service burden.
“The national budget Tinubu met in 2023 showed that 97
percent of revenue was to be spent on debt servicing, with little reserved for
capital, thereby foreclosing growth and jobs.
“Confronted with this grim economic reality, President
Tinubu faced a difficult choice of balancing the political and economic costs
of reforms against the risks of economic recession. His government chose the
former, to keep the economy afloat and set it back on the path of growth and
prosperity.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com