June 02, (THEWILL) – The Presidency and the Pan- Yoruba social, political organisation, Afenifere on Sunday disagreed on the impact of the Bola Tinubu Administration in the past two years.
While the Presidency maintained that President Tinubu’s mid-term report shows that his government’s reforms have repositioned the country by creating opportunities for Nigerians and foreign investors amid ongoing challenges, Afenifere held on to an opposite narrative, claiming that the reforms have worsened the social and economic status of Nigerians.
The President’s media teams spoke at a media parley in Lagos on Sunday, while Afenifere made their observations in a statement issued on Sunday.
Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy and the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, though admitting that things were tough, disclosed that the government needed to take tough decisions to immediately halt further drift towards the abyss, saying that tough decisions such as fuel subsidy removal and the floating of the naira were aimed to encourage competition and unlock market potential.
Onanuga said, “Everything is not all bad for the economy,” Some Nigerians are actually doing well. People are taking advantage of the devalued currency to export agricultural products like cocoa, sorghum and Zobo (hibiscus). These exporters are making significant gains.”
According to him, the current high interest rate and inflation should be understood in the context of a larger economic change.
“There is a paradigm shift happening globally. Nigeria is moving to a market-driven economy. If you produce water and people stop drinking water, you innovate. That’s how markets work,” he said, adding that operating under globally accepted models, such as the “willing buyer, willing seller,” standard, the country’s foreign exchange policy, for example, mirrors internationally accepted standards.
“What was happening at that time was that the NNPC had reached the bottom point. It had no money to import fuel; it claimed that it was owing suppliers about six billion dollars and the government was owing it about four trillion dollars. So, it could not import any more.” “There was no fuel. Many stations were saying no fuel, no fuel.
“Nigeria has abundant resources that we are harnessing, but not as much readily available money as people might think,” he explained.
“Even UK and the US at some point devalued. These are economic principles that are universal and cannot be changed because it is Nigeria,” he asserted.
“This is how economies function around the world. We’re just aligning with global standards. Sub-national governments are receiving more allocation than before and many governors have confirmed this,” they said.
Responding to criticism of fluctuating fuel prices, in response to questions about the prevailing harsh realities on the streets and homes, the media team countered, “Prices are becoming competitive. Importers and marketers are adjusting. This is what happens when the market is allowed to play its role. One man left his bank job to engage in agro-export. He’s doing very well. Another group is exporting Zobo and making money. These are the hidden success stories.”
For the media team, a better way to describe the situation in Nigeria is that the country’s economy is undergoing a transition, open to those with adaptive capabilities to take advantage to sow and reap the rewards.
In their assessment, Leader of Afenifere, Oba Oladipo Olaitan and National Publicity Secretary, Justice Faloye, said in their statement that the midterm report of the Bola Tinubu administration shows that every human development in the Nigerian index has failed and in need of urgent remedial action.
“The midterm report shows that every human development and socio-political index has regressed since the coming of the Bola Tinubu administration, thus turning the promise of renewed hope to a nightmare of regressing hopelessness and despair,” they said, adding, “Rather than take full responsibility for the unmitigated sufferings inflicted on Nigerians in the past two years on account of its wrong policy choices and wasteful spending, the administration has engaged in massive propaganda claiming false successes and shifting blames to global and historical factors, as well as showing scant empathy for ordinary Nigerians.”
They maintained that due to “unforced errors, especially the oversight of the production element of subsidies and floating the naira, without any preparation to cushion the predictable impact,” the Tinubu Economic Reforms are yet to yield their desired impact.
“Despite the Bola Tinubu administration’s economic policies causing huge inflation that cut real wages in over half, only 4.1 percent of workers in the civil service had their wages increased by 38 per cent. Reliance on unproven channels for the distribution of pitiable half -hearted food and other palliatives were corruptly split among those connected,” they lamented.
“Two years into its tenure, and contrary to its well- advertised electoral promise, the Tinubu administration is yet to implement the Oronsaye Report’s recommendation to cut the cost of governance, instead the costs have ballooned. The tone of government at all levels is one of profligate ‘jaiye jaiye’ lifestyle, while the masses are being berated with talk about Nigeria’s wasteful past and the imperative of sacrifice to restore fiscal integrity.
They further stated that the government’s first supplementary budget and subsequent budgets were spent on not only preserving but also increasing the luxurious lifestyle of those in government.
On governance, the duo said the government has shown increasingly centralising tendencies to further weaken the federalist elements in the constitution by attacking federating units with the takeover of their administrative units, known as local governments.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
