&w=64&q=75)
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) torchbearer in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu government.
In a lengthy post on his X account on Sunday, February 18, 2024, the former Vice President accused Tinubu of hurriedly implementing the unification of the exchange rate without thoughtful planning and necessary consultations with stakeholders.
Nigerians are gritting their teeth through a torrid economic condition resulting from the policies of the Federal Government, particularly the removal of subsidy on petrol and liberalisation of the forex market.
These realities have made it extremely difficult for citizens to afford essential goods and services as purchasing power continues to erode at an alarming rate.
However, Atiku claimed he was aware of these possibilities since the twilight of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration; according to him, that was why he presented a comprehensive foreign exchange market reform plan in his election manifesto.
He criticised the President for failing to effectively present his administration’s measures to get the nation out of the economic quagmire.
“At a meeting called at his instance on Thursday to address the foreign exchange crisis and the problem of economic downturn, among others, Bola Tinubu failed, yet again, to showcase any concrete policy steps that his administration is taking to contain the crises of currency fluctuation and poverty that face the country.
“Rather, he told the country and experts who have been offering ideas on how to resolve the crisis that he and his team should not be distracted and allowed time to continue cooking their cocktail that has brought untold hardship to the people of Nigeria,” his tweet partly read.
While stressing his disagreement with government policies, Atiku insisted, “The wrong policies of the Tinubu administration continue to cause untold pain and distress on the economy and the rest of us cannot keep quiet when the government has demonstrated sufficient poverty of ideas to redeem the situation.”
“If the government will not hold on to their usual hubris, there are ways that the country can walk out of the current crisis.
“After a careful assessment of the state of our economy at the twilights of the last administration, I knew full well that the economy of the country was heading for the ditch and came up with a number of policy prescriptions that would rescue the country from getting into the mess that we are currently in,” he said.
The presidential candidate recalled how, in his election policy document titled 'My Covenant With Nigerians,' he proposed a foreign exchange market reform that would eliminate multiple exchange rate windows.