The Allied People’s Movement (APM) has declared that an admission by Senator Abubakar Bagudu that the reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu are responsible for the worsening hardship in the country has confirmed its position that the Tinubu administration is anti-people.
Hardship and the reported Bagudu’s admission
Bagudu, who is the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, was reported to have admitted at the Federal Appointees Strategic Summit in Abuja, on Wednesday, that the Tinubu administration did not anticipate what it described as the scale of turbulence that hit the global economy.
APM, stated in a release by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, that the statement was a gross admission of incompetence.
It added that the admission by Bagudu also validated its position that the Tinubu administration lacked the coherent economic blueprint, policy foresight and adequate safeguards required to manage a nation.
“It is, indeed, irresponsible and unpardonable for a government to arrogantly embark on far-reaching economic policies without adequately assessing their damaging consequences on citizens.
“Right from onset, well-meaning Nigerians had cautioned that the abrupt removal of subsidy on petroleum products, floating of the Naira, imposition of harsh taxes and other anti-production policies in an economy such as Nigeria would precipitate untold hardship on the people.
“Instead of listening to the voice of reason, the Tinubu administration embarked on ego trip and chest thumping that ended up ruining the economy and crippling the productive sector.
“The result is the growing number of millions of compatriots languishing in multi-dimensional poverty,” APM stated in the release.
The party also attributed the mass exodus of a sizeable number of multi-national companies from Nigeria to what it stated were the anti-people policies of the APC-led Federal Government.
“Millions of businesses and enterprises that sustained families folded, cost of living skyrocketed, unemployment became widespread with over 60 per cent of Nigerian population unable to afford their daily meals, medications and other necessities of life while corruption and treasury looting fester in government circles,” it added.
The party challenged President Tinubu to take responsibility and apologise to Nigerians “now that the administration has admitted that it has failed and that it is responsible for the woes of the citizens.”
It also called on the president to quit the 2027 presidential race, noting that “he has not demonstrated the capacity to effectively run an insightful and productive system.
“The admission by Minister Bagudu firmly settles the fact that the Nigerian system requires a hard reset from the comatose situation it has been plunged into by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
“Nigeria requires and deserves a leadership that has the blueprint, policy foresight and adequate safeguards required to manage a nation and ensure the wellbeing of all citizens.
“This informs why Nigerians are gravitating towards the presidential candidate of the APM, Oyo State governor, Engr. ‘Seyi Makinde, who is armed with the blueprint to run a people-based and development-driven government with a clear roadmap for tackling Nigeria’s economic and security challenges while protecting citizens from avoidable hardship.
“Nigeria deserves the duplication, at national level, of Makinde’s record of performance, including growing the economy of Oyo State to become one of the best performing in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
“Our party therefore urges Nigerians to remain steadfast and continue to rally behind Engr. Makinde as we vigorously mobilise the citizens to democratically take back Nigeria from the misrule of the APC, come January 16, 2027.”
