As President Bola Tinubu prepares to mark his first year in office on May 29, Nigerians are far from satisfied with his economic policies that have seen the naira crash to an all time low, sending the price of goods and services over the roof.
President Tinubu on his first day in office announced the withdrawal of petrol subsidy and all year round Nigerians continue to feel the effort of rising inflation and low purchasing power. This coupled with lack of steady power supply and insecurity has kept the nation on the edge of the cliff.
The House of Representative Labour Party’s (LP) caucus in a statement said President Tinubu has continued in the path of his predecessor Mohanmadu Buhari and driving home the point that the ruling party the All Progressives Congress is incapable of reversing the economic fortunes of the country.
“Our Caucus had taken a backseat in the patriotic hope that, maybe, just maybe, the beneficiary administration would be able to wrought magic and pull the nation from the precipice of economic annihilation,” said the statement signed by Afam Ogene, leader of the Labour Party caucus.
“But, as can be obviously felt by the blind and seen by the deaf, the entire country has, after one year, come to the full and unambiguous understanding of what President Bola Tinubu meant when he said that his administration would continue with the legacies of his predecessor.
“The current staggering negative economic indices should alarm every Nigerian, as it has left many previous optimists, including ourselves, in glaring shock.”
“These verifiable figures and the excruciating living conditions of the people, more than any other thing, underscore the fact that in just one year, the APC government has earned an unenviable record of perpetuating a cycle of poverty and underdevelopment, in spite of the flowery campaign promises it made just last year.”
The coalition of United Political Parties also scored the President low marks. Spokesperson for the CUPP, Mark Adebayo said in a press conference in Abuja Tuesday that Tinubu has failed to move the country from bad economy, insecurity, health and infrastructural decay.
“For a government that came into power with the attractive mantra of Hope Renewed, there is hardly any sector of governance that anyone can point at with any glimmer of hope on the horizon.
“What we have had in the last one year is hope ruined and poverty weaponised as if to punish Nigerians for the electoral choice they made during last year’s presidential election.
“We had assumed that President Bola Tinubu would, at least, perform a little better than the disastrous administration of his predecessor, President Muhammadu Buhari, in the areas of economy, security, education, health, infrastructure and so forth.
“Alas! Judging by the last one year of another APC government, we can safely conclude that the country’s situation has not only worsened significantly but even worsened by the day.”
“Gone with the subsidy was our joy, hope and high expectations of a Tinubu administration that most thought was coming with a new deal of development, prosperity, peace and progress that he passionately campaigned on during the electioneering period.
“There is not a single justification for the subsidy removal in the manner it was done. The desperation of the president to implement the atrocious neo-liberal economic policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund and other global financial institutions that seek to perpetually keep Africa backwards was the singular factor in that anti-people action which has reduced our Naira to just a little better than waste paper.
“One year later, the economy is in a mess. One year later, the cost of living is prohibitive for most Nigerians.
“One year later, the poverty level has moved from multidimensional to pluridimensional. One year later, the japa syndrome has quadrupled. One year later, the government is still being run on fake promises and falsehoods.
“One year later, there are more out-of-school children than ever. One year after, Nigerians have moved from being among the happiest people on earth to being among the saddest.”
