Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has again slammed President Bola Tinubu for his administration’s failure to stem the current economic hardship in the country, ascribing it to Tinubu’s “hasty ascent to power, devoid of a coherent plan.”
Responding to the Presidency’s dismissal of his statement, on Sunday, outlining what he would have done differently to keep the economy in a better shape, if he was the President, the former Vice President said the Federal Government cannot tax its way out of the present economic crisis in the country.
The PDP candidate in the February 25, 2023 presidential election, had in a statement, entitled “what we would have done differently,” criticised the federal government’s management of the fuel subsidy removal, as well as the fiscal and monetary policies of the Tinubu administration, and outlined a set of policies he could have pursued if he was the President.
However, the Presidency, in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed Atiku’s alternatives as lacking in “substance”.
Onanuga noted that had the former Vice President won the 2023 presidential polls, he would have plunged the country into a “worse economic situation or overseen a regime of cronyism.”
Nevertheless, Atiku noted that “like many fellow Nigerians, I firmly believe that we find ourselves in this current economic turmoil due to the Tinubu administration’s hasty ascent to power, devoid of a coherent plan.”
According to him, “In stark contrast, my team not only devised a comprehensive Recovery Plan, but also welcomed significant input from Nigerians, ensuring that our approach was inclusive and well-considered.
“Isn’t it fascinating how the so-called ‘tested ‘Tinubu administration’s only policy response seems to be a national prayer led by the First Lady and the NSA? Just a mere 24 hours after I proposed my alternative solutions! What a bold strategy! ”
The former Vice President added that while prayer is a noble path to follow, the scriptures prescribe “diligent labour and hard work”.
Atiku, who argued that many countries have emerged as strong economies by encouraging economic growth through low taxes, wondered why the federal government is “fixated on inflicting further hardship upon an already struggling populace?”
He said: “We cannot hope to tax our way out of the economic quagmire wrought by these misguided experimental policies of a novice administration. Numerous nations, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Monaco (an EU territory with a zero-income tax policy), among many others, have emerged as economic powerhouses by fostering growth through lower taxation.
“One can only speculate that Tinubu’s government is anchored to a mere Tea-plan, which can only lead to a T-pain.
“Furthermore, let me emphasize that the citizens who cast their votes in the 2023 presidential election are well aware that I did not lose; rather, we find ourselves in this predicament because the election was criminally stolen from the Nigerian people.”
According to the former Vice President, “it is therefore uncharitable for Tinubu’s team to claim that my proposals remain untested. What remains unproven is the erratic, trial-and-error nature of the policies so far implemented by this administration, which elucidates our present predicament.”
“Let us not forget that under our economic stewardship between 1999-2003, Nigeria soared to the pinnacle of Africa’s economies, while their administration has relegated us to a disheartening fourth position.
“The average GDP rate under the Obasanjo administration that I served in was 6.59% and peaked at 15% in 2002; 7.98% under the late Yar’Adua administration and 4.8% under Jonathan compared to the dismal 2.8% of the so-called “tested” Tinubu era. Enough of the pains of the shambolic “bolekaja” economic policy prescriptions!” Atiku chided.
