Presidency tackles Atiku, says he has assumed position of “Opposition-in-chief to Tinubu”
The Presidency on Sunday night tackled Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 election.
Atiku came under this attack by the presidency over his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies which he claims has left Nigerians in pain and despair.
Gistreel reports that Atiku had in a statement in Abuja on Sunday stated that the President’s performance on the country’s economic system has been disastrous.
According to Atiku, Tinubu’s economic policies, drawn from a “so-called renewed hope agenda, are ironically dashing hopes, creating pain and causing despair.”
However, the presidency reacted to Atiku’s comment through a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, titled, “Atiku Abubakar and his new hobby.”
The statement read: “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has certainly found a new hobby to keep himself busy, having failed to achieve his lifelong ambition of becoming the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is increasingly carving for himself the role of opposition-in-chief to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government.
“However, we notice 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 our economy and other matters of public concerns.
“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 an 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. 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.”
According to the statement, 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.
It said, “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.
“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.”
The presidency further told the former Vice President to be honest enough to admit that President Tinubu inherited a weak economy, which to all intents and purposes and to ensure the survival of the country needs a complete overhaul.
