Tinubu Anti-People, Responsible For National Economic Setback — Atiku

The Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation has reminded Nigerians that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, set the stage for the national eco­nomic setback of the nation and must take responsibility for his actions.

The Atiku/Okowa campaign recalled how Tinubu led a vicious anti-people campaign against the introduction of gradual remov­al of fuel subsidy, which had ac­companying palliatives that were cushioning the effects of subsidy on Nigerians.

The Campaign, in a state­ment by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, also recalled how Tinubu reportedly engineered and masterminded the reckless and shady increase in the sub­sidy payment by the Buhari ad­ministration without evidence of corresponding increase in the volume of fuel consumed by Nigerians.

“Moreover, the APC presiden­tial candidate has looked the oth­er way on the problematic crude oil theft in which our nation los­es more than 400,000 barrels of crude oil amounting to over N23 billion every day and a staggering yearly N6 trillion, higher than the federal capital budget for 2023.

“Our campaign is already aware that Nigerians know the fact that Tinubu is not worried about fuel and new naira notes scarcity, but concerned that the situation was affecting his life ambition of turning Nigeria into his economic empire and fiefdom.

“If Tinubu was ever con­cerned about Nigerians, what effort did he make to get the government, where he is the national leader, to address the worsening economy, the abysmal living standard and our national descent as one of the fastest grow­ing economies of the world under the PDP to the poverty capital of the world under his APC?

“It is on record that under this government, which he brought into power and made many ap­pointments into, inflation and unemployment have galloped; millions of Nigerians have lost their jobs and many more can no longer afford their daily meals due to the astronomical cost of living. What were the consoling words of Tinubu to Nigerians?” The campaign asked.

The campaign said that it is also important to ask Tinubu the advice he provided his gov­ernment when Nigerians began to take their own lives by jump­ing into the lagoon in Lagos State out of frustration while others were forced into slavery mission abroad as an option to dying of hunger and acute poverty under Tinubu’s APC.

“Today, many Nigerian youths are ‘japaing’ in droves to the UK, US, Canada or Republic of Benin, yet Tinubu is unconcerned,” the campaign pointed out.

The campaign said it was appalling that due to the harsh and anti-people economic poli­cies engineered by Tinubu and the government he installed, the naira had lost value under this administration from N199 to a dollar to N760, which contributed to rising costs and forced several businesses to shut down.

“While Nigerians were suf­fering these untold hardships, Tinubu had no words of conso­lation for them. He only remem­bered the cost of the naira, the non-availability of fuel as well as the new cash crunch when he mounted soapbox to campaign for his failed Presidential life ambition,” the campaign said.

The campaign asked how could Tinubu posture as if he had concern for Nigerians whereas in the almost eight years when banditry, kidnapping and acts of terrorism in the North and other parts of the country went on unchecked with mindless killings, maiming and wanton destruction of public and private property, he had nothing to say.

“Only yesterday, a judiciary officer was shot in his chambers in Imo State. Why is Tinubu un­concerned about all these?

“Furthermore, many farm­ers across the country are un­able to go to their farmlands and herders are unable to graze their herds due to the rising in­security, just as the number of Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps continue to grow. How did Tinubu show concern in all of these?

“Under the administration that Tinubu, by his own words, installed, Nigeria’s debt has recorded an astronomical rise to N77 trillion even with allega­tions that the borrowed funds are being diverted to APC interests. When will Tinubu be concerned about this national malaise?

“It is clear that Tinubu is not interested in our national chal­lenges but in the presidential race for his ‘Emilo kan’ agenda. For this, Nigerians are set to re­ject him with a shattering defeat on February 25,” the campaign said.