By Halimah Olamide
Hours after former vice president Atiku Abubakar lambasted President Bola Tinubu for dashing Nigerians’ hopes, the Presidency has said that claim that the economic policies are not working is false.
The presidency, which said Atiku has found a new hobby in criticisms, said those who understand “the situation Tinubu found himself” with the state of the economy have commended what they see as landmarks.
In a response signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the presidency said appeared still hunted by the failure to achieve his lifelong ambition to rule Nigeria.
“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,” Onanuga said
He said all the major candidates for the 2023 general election agreed that the fuel subsidy regime must end, adding that subsidy had become an albatross on the economy.
“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.
“Atiku went for this so he could sell these important national assets to his friends and cronies. President Tinubu removed the subsidy from Day One and announced moves to harmonise the exchange rates.
“Since then, he and his economic team have been working vigorously to harmonise the rates and also end the rampant and criminal arbitrage that the multiple windows allowed.
“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,” Onanuga stated.
He said it is only Atiku who fail to see what other “reputable local and international agencies who understand the situation the Tinubu administration found itself have seen.
“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. “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.”
Onanuga said Atiku should be honest enough to admit that President Tinubu “inherited a weak economy” which 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 percent of revenue was to be spent on debt servicing, with little reserved for capital, thereby foreclosing growth and jobs.”
He added that Tinubu was confronted, on assumption of office, with what he called “grim economic reality,” adding that there emerged “a difficult choice of balancing the political and economic costs of reforms against the risks of economic recession.”