The Presidency has reacted to the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar who said in a comment that Nigerians are concerned, and rightly so, that President Bola Tinubu’s poor response to Nigeria’s economic challenges is setting the stage for a prolonged and deeper domestic economic crisis.
Atiku on X (formerly Twitter) handle @atiku Sunday lamented that the economy’s performance has, in recent weeks, months, been a subject of intense discourse among Nigerian citizens at home and abroad, adding that Tinubu’s economic policies, drawn from a so-called renewed hope agenda, ironically dashing hopes, creating pain and causing despair.
He said further that the private sector is shrinking by the day as small businesses are emasculated as Multi-National companies, confused and weary of the economy, leave Nigeria in droves. “The intense cost of living pressures has created more misery for the poor in towns and villages”.
According to him, “There is hunger in the land as basic commodities, including BREAD, are becoming out of reach for average Nigerians. His 2024 budget is a business- as-usual exercise, bereft of concrete ideas
“And actions that would support Nigeria’s journey toward economic transformation—consisting mainly of wasteful expenditures to cater to a bloated Federal Government. Budget 2024 will not facilitate growth and cannot empower our citizens to earn a living and live a decent life”.
Atiku stated that President Tinubu has shown no capacity to deal with the adverse and disastrous impact of the new subsidy regime on the people and businesses and the new foreign exchange policy, which provides for a free-floating exchange rate.
“Tinubu initiatives are literally uninformed, arbitrary, and chaotic. BAT’s palliatives are too mean, pitiable, and contemptuous of the poor. He seems genuinely lost, bewildered, and overwhelmed. To mask their failures, BAT and his political appointees are busy blaming his predecessor in office for bequeathing a ‘dead’ economy.
“This is a familiar game popularised by former President Buhari while in office. It reinforces what we already know: that BAT came into office unprepared. Tinubu and his economic management team must swallow their pride, admit their missteps and failures, and follow those who know the terrain. They must act fast before economy sinks deeper into the abyss. The question is, will they”, Atiku asked.
The Presidency in its response by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga lashed out at Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who he said has certainly found a new hobby to keep himself busy, having failed to achieve his lifelong ambition of becoming President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In his reaction tittled ATIKU ABUBAKAR AND HIS NEW HOBBY, Onanuga went further that the 2023 People’s Democratic Party Presidential candidate is increasingly carving for himself the role of opposition-in-chief to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government.
However, he said the Presidency noticed 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 Nigeria’s economy and other matters of public concerns.
According to him, “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 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”.
The Presidency claimed Atiku went for this so he could sell these important national assets to his friends and cronies, adding that President Tinubu removed the subsidy from day one and announced moves to harmonise the exchange rates.
He said, “Since then, he and his economic team have been working vigorously to harmonise the rates and also end rampant and criminal arbitrage that the multiple windows allowed. “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.
“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 govt’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”.
He berated Atiku, saying instead of mouthing platitudes every time in a bid to earn cheap political mileage, who presumes himself as the leader of opposition should tell Nigerians what he would have done better if he had been elected President.
He said, “Atiku should be honest enough to admit that President Tinubu inherited a weak economy, which to all intents and purposes and to ensure the survival of our country needs a complete overhaul. 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 Presidency restated that 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.
He said, “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.
“President Tinubu is focused on solving our economic and security challenges. The fiscal and monetary policies his administration is pursuing are delivering unprecedented value to investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Nigerian Stock Exchange is outperforming others in the world and is now the best, not based on bubble, but record profits by many listed companies.
“The administration has also embarked on comprehensive fiscal and tax policy reform that will drive speedy recovery and spur economic growth. Nigerians and the global investment communities trust the ability and competence of President Tinubu to deliver progress and shared prosperity.
“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 bellyache. However, they cannot stop the serious work of nation- building already set in motion by President Tinubu”, he added.