Atiku Reacts To Tinubu’s Nationwide Broadcast

Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant to Atiku Abubakar for Public Communications, called President Bola Tinubu’s national broadcast uninteresting and misleading, adding that it was a waste of time.

Shaibu said Tinubu’s speech was made only to persuade organized workers not to take part in a nationwide protest.

Atiku’s aide argued that Tinubu’s performance was an afterthought after petrol subsidies were scrapped without a clear plan in place to alleviate the suffering of people who have been impoverished since then, when the Radical People’s Congress took power in 2015.

He added: “Tinubu’s speech was hastily drafted to prevent the suffering masses and organized workers from taking part in the protests.

Instead of apologizing for cutting benefits without providing a cushion for the poor, he blames the pension thief for the current suffering.

If he was sure, why didn’t he stop them? Tinubu also lied when he claimed that he had been advocating the abolition of subsidies for many years.

He is the one who in 2012 described the abolition of petrol subsidies as the “Jonathan Goodluck tax” and funded protests in Lagos state.

After his dubious rise to power, he lacked imagination on how to solve the problem and then cut back support, but he had no plan.

Chipu said Tinubu’s so-called 50,000 naira scheme for financing small businesses would be undermined by inflation, exchange rate problems and corruption.

He added, “Tinubu said it would provide 50,000 naira (about $60) to 1,300 nano companies. This is reminiscent of the dodgy muni trader, 20,000 naira per month is spent on the final public works program of the APC government, which has not only failed to stimulate the economy, but has also led to Deepening poverty when money flows into private pockets.

What mechanisms are in place to ensure access for the poor in Nigeria? The answer is no. This is nothing more than a lie, as we will all see in the coming weeks.

Atiku’s aide questioned Tinubu’s plan to give 500,000 hectares of land to farmers to boost agriculture even if the unrest in the country’s food basket did not subside.

He added: “The Land Use Act puts the land under the authority of the governors. The so-called 500,000-hectare supply plan is only part of the disappointment and continuation of Buhari’s broken promises.

Farmers were killed and others kidnapped on Saturday alone in Birnin Jawari, Kaduna State. So far, no news has been received from the presidential palace.

Most of the societies that have been attacked are agricultural societies that depend on agriculture. What kind of plan can be put in place in the agricultural sector without first addressing insecurity?

He said Tinubu’s insistence that the minimum wage be raised soon is evidence that he did not properly plan to remove the petrol subsidy.

Shouldn’t the minimum wage increase be discussed before subsidies are dropped? “This is the height of ignorance, putting the cart before the horse,” Shaibu said.