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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party (LP) have slammed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the comment credited to him that 'Nigeria is not alone in poverty'.
President Tinubu had made the comment when a delegation from the National Assembly led by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, paid him a courtesy visit in Lagos.
Others members of the delegation were the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau; and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Benjamin Kalu, among others.
The President had said: “Yes, there is poverty; there is suffering in the land. We are not the only people facing such but we must face our challenges. We must find a way to eliminate banditry and terrorism so that farmers can bring out food from the farmlands.
“Good economics at a harsh time is the challenge that we must face. As I said in my speech, no matter how difficult it is and how challenging it can be, I will not turn my back on Nigeria. There is the need to stop smuggling and all economic sabotage.
"Why should we have people removing rail tracks and all that, stealing electric cables and sabotaging the economy? We must embrace the campaign to change our value system."
The President’s comment however raised dust and criticism from former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party (LP).
Atiku specifically said the President was elected to tackle poverty, and should desist from making excuses for allegedly inflicting multidimensional poverty on Nigerians.
The ex-VP through his Special Adviser, Paul Ibe, said: “There are little or no values nurtured and promoted by Tinubu and his administration. What Nigerians are seeing manifest is insensitivity, bigotry, nepotism, corruption, and wastefulness.
“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 we are all well aware of.
“The poverty in Nigeria is multi-dimensional. It was exacerbated by the policies of the Tinubu administration that did not prioritise 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. "
Reacting, the LP expressed disappointment with President Tinubu’s statement which it described as making mockery of the Nigeria’s poor.
The LP said the President needed to be reminded that he was elected into office to reduce, if not eliminate poverty, and not exacerbate it.
It said: “We are disappointed but not surprised by the comments made by President 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.
“May be this administration need 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.
“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.”
