The Labour Party (LP) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have criticised President Bola Tinubu for inflicting multi-dimensional poverty on Nigerians since his assumption of office.
The LP in particular said it was disappointed with President Tinubu’s recent statement that Nigerians were not the only people in the world suffering from poverty.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said in an interview in Abuja that the President should stop mocking Nigerians.
He said the President needed to remember that he was elected into office to reduce if not eliminate poverty and not to exercerbate it.
Ifoh said, “We are disappointed but not surprised by the comments made by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu about the excruciating poverty his administration’s policies have unleashed on Nigerians since he took office over a year ago.
“It was to say the least disheartening to hear Mr. President mock his citizens by saying Nigerians are not the only ones facing poverty.
“Assuming but not conceding that what he said is true, Nigerians who are at the receiving end of his harsh economic policies don’t need to be reminded about the pain and hunger they have been forced to live with by the very people who put them in that situation in the first place.
“May be this administration needs to be reminded that it was elected to reduce if not eliminate poverty, hunger and disease but what we have seen is an obsession with opulence.
“We are yet to get over the billions appropriated for the renovation of the President and Vice President’s lodges, now we hear they want new jets to join the Presidential fleet.”
He further said, “Our schools and health institutions are on their knees, the same government claims it cannot afford to pay public servants a living wage but has enough to make itself comfortable at the expense of the suffering masses.
“Mr. President, we implore you to uphold the constitution you swore to protect. The constitution says the security and welfare of the populace shall be the primary purpose of the existence of your government. Enough of this mockery.”
Atiku’s responds
Similarly, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe said, there had been little or no values nurtured and promoted by Tinubu and his administration in the last one year.
“What Nigerians are seeing manifest is insensitivity, bigotry, nepotism, corruption, and wastfulness.
“For the President to speak about us finding a way to eliminate banditry and terrorism is an acknowledgement of failure.
“What we expect to hear from him are the measures and the strategy to deal with the menace and not to regale us with the problems that we are all well aware of.
“The poverty in Nigeria is multidimensional. It was exacerbated by the policies of the Tinubu administration that does not priotise production and cutting costs.
“Policies that were not well thought out and are only aimed at pauperizing the citizens. Tinubu’s trial-and-error policies have continued to dig the country deeper into economic degradation.
“His government is characterised by a lack of transparency and accountability. For example, his administration is paying for subsidy, contrary to the claims that it is gone for good.
“According to his minister of finance, last year (the very same year they allegedly stopped payment of subsidy), Tinubu paid a subsidy of N3.6 trillion and this year, he is projected to pay a subsidy of N5.4 trillion.
“Why are they lying about this other than to divert money away from the Federation Account. Truth be told, Tinubu is the one causing the deepening poverty in the country.”
