Prominent PDP member and former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has sharply criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies and expressed concerns about what he sees as a terrible response to Nigeria’s economic problems.
Abubakar, the two-time presidential candidate, was unreserved in his criticism of President Tinubu’s alleged “Renewed Hope Agenda,” which he claimed seemed to be accomplishing the opposite of what it was supposed to—that is, shattering hopes, causing pain, and inciting hopelessness among Nigerians. The former vice president voiced serious worries about the declining size of the private sector, which she said primarily affected small enterprises and saw a major exodus of multinational corporations..
“Hunger in the land” became a focal point of Atiku’s criticism, emphasizing the increasing difficulty for average Nigerians to afford basic commodities, including bread. He dismissed Tinubu’s 2024 budget as a “business-as-usual exercise,” lacking concrete ideas for economic transformation and filled with what he described as wasteful expenditures catering to a bloated federal government.
Atiku further accused Tinubu of showing no capacity to deal with the adverse impacts of new subsidy and foreign exchange policies, labeling the initiatives as “uninformed, arbitrary, and chaotic.” He portrayed Tinubu as genuinely lost, bewildered, and overwhelmed, criticizing the palliatives as “mean, pitiable, and contemptuous of the poor.”
In a bold move, Atiku called on Tinubu and his economic management team to swallow their pride, admit their missteps and failures, and seek guidance from those more knowledgeable in economic affairs. He warned of the looming abyss for the economy if urgent action is not taken.
To deflect criticism, Atiku accused Tinubu and his political appointees of playing the blame game, asserting that blaming predecessors for a ‘dead’ economy was a familiar tactic, echoing similar strategies used by former President Buhari. According to Atiku, this narrative only reinforces the perception that Tinubu came into office unprepared.
As these political heavyweights clash over economic ideologies, Nigerians are left to ponder the implications for the nation’s economic future. Stay tuned for further developments on this contentious issue.
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