Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies, characterising them as a “business-as-usual exercise” bereft of concrete ideas.
Atiku emphasised the growing concern among Nigerians regarding the country’s economic performance, asserting that Tinubu’s inadequate response to economic challenges is setting the stage for a prolonged and more profound domestic economic crisis.
At the core of Atiku’s criticism is the claim that Tinubu’s economic policies, derived from a proclaimed “renewed hope agenda,” are paradoxically diminishing hopes, inflicting pain, and fostering despair.
According to the PDP chieftain, the private sector is shrinking rapidly, with small businesses feeling the brunt and multinational companies exhibiting confusion and weariness, leading to an exodus from Nigeria.
One major point of contention raised by Atiku is the perceived incapacity of President Tinubu to address the adverse effects of the new subsidy regime on both the populace and businesses.
In a post on his official X handle, Atiku expressed concerns about the new foreign exchange policy, which involves a free-floating exchange rate. He characterised Tinubu’s initiatives as uninformed, arbitrary, and chaotic.
Furthermore, Atiku pointed out the alarming trend of the cost of living pressures, which, he claims, are exacerbating the misery for the poor in towns and villages across the nation. The PDP chieftain argued that Tinubu’s palliatives, intended to alleviate economic hardships, are deemed too mean, pitiable, and contemptuous of the impoverished.
Part of Atiku’s tweet: