Tinubu perfecting Buhari’s “unfinished business of revamping national economy,” says FG
By Emma Ogbuehi
There seems to be no end to the ongoing war of words between the Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government and governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Last week, PDP governors advised the ruling APC to graciously throw in the towel if it cannot mobilise Nigerians as well as all organs and tiers of government for sustainable solutions to the various problems plaguing the nation.
The governors, under the aegis of the PDP Governors’ Forum (PDP-GF) specifically noted that the hardship and suffering being faced by Nigerians have no tribal, religious or party colouration, stressing that “a hungry man is an angry man.”
But in a rebuttal on Sunday, the Federal Government said Tinubu was not and will never be overwhelmed by the current challenges the country is facing.
Instead, the party said, contrary to the views held by even chieftains of the APC that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari destroyed the economy, Tinubu was perfecting Buhari’s “unfinished business of revamping our national economy.”
“The President and his administration recognise the unfinished business of revamping our national economy kickstarted by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, through programmes focused on large-scale infrastructure, social welfare, prioritizing the equipping and welfare of the military and security agencies, and reclaiming Nigeria’s strategic place in the comity of nations. Boko Haram and its affiliates, on the ascendancy in 2014/2015, have since been decimated, and similar bold gains are now being made with bandits and other criminals,” FG claimed.
The statement by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris and titled, “PDP Governors: It’s time to do the work you were elected for,” said the call for Tinubu’s resignation was a distraction.
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Last Sunday, former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, blamed Buhari for the forex challenge and economic hardship plaguing the country.
Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo North, claimed when he featured as a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ that Nigerians are currently suffering due to the long-term consequences of the Buhari’s “reckless policies.”
Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, had also made similar observations that “President Bola Tinubu inherited an administration that was almost comatose” and “a bankrupt country.”
But reacting to these claims, a chieftain of the APC, Salihu Lukman, on Friday, said all leaders of the APC, including President Bola Tinubu, were complicit in one way or the other to all the circumstances that contributed to the failure of Buhari.
READ ALSO: PDP Governors urge Tinubu to consider resignation if Nigeria’s problems are overwhelming
Reacting in a statement issued in Abuja titled “APC and Question of Liability: Open Letter to APC Leaders,” Lukman stated that it would be “uncharitable and dishonest” for the former president of Nigeria Labour Congress and other loyalists to be seen making excuses for Tinubu’s government.
He said, “Sadly, instead of ruling with humility and reviewing policies when there is public outcry, they are grandstanding and giving excuses. They engage in the familiar blame games, attributing the consequences of government policies to the administration of former President Buhari. This is very uncharitable and dishonest, with due respect to our leaders.
“Certainly, the government of Buhari did not measure up to the expectations of party members and Nigerians in general. But we must take responsibility. The truth is that the success or failure of Buhari’s government represents the collective success or failure of APC as a party.
“All of us in the leadership of the APC, including Tinubu, were complicit in one way or the other to all the circumstances that contributed to the failure of Buhari.
“Unfortunately, as things are, we are also strengthening the hands of Asiwaju to continue the path of failure. Just like we deluded Buhari into believing that every decision he took was right, our leaders are today misleading Tinubu to believe that all his decisions are right. Our leaders, including Comrade Oshiomhole, want us to believe that the past administration created the problem.
“If that is the case, why were they unable as party leaders to regulate the conduct of former President Buhari and prevent him from failing? Now that President Asiwaju Tinubu is in charge, what is being done to address this challenge and ensure that he does not suffer the fate of his predecessor?”
But doubling down on the APC blame game on Sunday, Idris, while “noting the statement by the PDP Governors Forum, directing a call for resignation at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR,” said it was “nothing but an attempt at distraction by people who should instead be busy supporting the President’s efforts at bringing economic relief to the Nigerian people.”
“It is our considered view that the PDP and its Governors should not be seeking, through the back door of intimidation, what they have consistently failed to achieve by democratic means, since 2015.”
The statement reads in part: “Those who could not bring transformational change when they had a lengthy chance to, should not seek to interrupt or distract those who are busy at work on the presidential vision that Nigerians elected them to implement.
“The administration of President Bola Tinubu has also, since inception, generously extended financial support to all the State Governments, regardless of partisan affiliation. In addition, the removal of the petrol subsidy—which, incidentally, was one of the main planks of the PDP presidential campaign—has swelled the revenues of all States, including the PDP States. To whom more has been given, more is therefore expected.
“The President and his administration recognise the unfinished business of revamping our national economy kickstarted by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, through programmes focused on large-scale infrastructure, social welfare, prioritizing the equipping and welfare of the military and security agencies, and reclaiming Nigeria’s strategic place in the comity of nations. Boko Haram and its affiliates, on the ascendancy in 2014/2015, have since been decimated, and similar bold gains are now being made with bandits and other criminals.
“Nigerians have not forgotten that it was the APC administration that cleared several liabilities left behind by the PDP government, such as subsidy claims by oil marketers, Paris Club Refunds, unpaid pensions, gratuities, and salary arrears owed various categories of pensioners from liquidated and existing State-Owned Enterprises.
“Major oil sector reforms that the PDP touted for years but could not deliver – passage of the PIB, new refineries, as well as the revamp of existing ones, and so on – are the very real and continuing legacies of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“All of these have been accomplished without access to the oil windfall that the PDP government enjoyed for much of the time that it was in power, and also against the backdrop of the most devastating global shock since the Second World War: the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We must continue to state these facts so Nigerians will know where we are coming from, and appreciate what is being done in its full context.
“President Tinubu is not and will never be overwhelmed by the current challenges the country is facing. He will not abdicate his responsibilities. He will courageously continue to wrestle with the challenges and surmount them, laying a durable foundation for the new Nigeria that is emerging.
“He has also never shied away from acknowledging the pain of ongoing reforms, and has seized every opportunity to assure Nigerians that inside the pain of the reforms lie the seeds of lasting prosperity and national development.
“To the PDP Governors, let us reiterate: This is not the time for distraction. It is time instead for the rolling up of sleeves, to support and complement the hard work of the President and his administration.”
