by Osita Chinedu
The presidency has challenged Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to come up with better alternatives to the policies put in place by the Ahmed bola Tinubu administration.
This follows after the former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the PDP in the last presidential elections took to his X handle and called out the president to come up with pragmatic steps to saving Nigeria’s dwindling economy stating that his policies are “…dashing hopes, creating pain and causing despair”.
The call was made in a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga and made available by NAN.
The presidential spokesperson claimed that the Tinubu administration inherited a weak economy and challenged Atiku to come up with better strategies and policies instead of berating the presidency with the intent of achieving cheap political relevance.
In his words, “Instead of mouthing platitudes every time in a bid to earn cheap political mileage, Alhaji Atiku who presumes himself as the leader of opposition should tell Nigerians what he would have done better if he had been elected President.
“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 national budget Tinubu met in 2023 showed that 97 per cent of revenue was to be spent on debt servicing, with little reserved for capital, thereby foreclosing growth and jobs.”
The SA stated that President Tinubu has been facing the multiple economic and security challenges facing the country since assumption of office in May 2023 and had chosen the difficult terrain of setting the economy on the path of growth and prosperity instead of the easy option of maintaining status quo of economic profligacy.
“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.
“President 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 the government’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.”
