Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has mocked the administration of President Bola Tinubu over a planned national prayer led by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, and National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, to fix the country’s challenges.
The prayer is being organised by the National Prayer Forum (NPF).
There has been an exchange between the presidency and Atiku Abubakar after the later claimed that he would have better managed Nigeria if he had emerged as president during the 2023 general election..
The former vice president said although he advocated the removal of the petrol subsidy, his administration would have adopted “a gradualist approach” to implementing the reforms.
But the presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Abubakar’s ideas “lack details,” adding that Nigerians “rejected” him and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023.
In a post on X on Monday, Abubakar said Tinubu was in a haste to take power “devoid of a coherent plan”.
I have taken note of the initial responses highlighting the striking disparity between President Tinubu’s faltering economic policies and the alternatives I have proposed. It is exciting to witness such a vigorous debate on these critical matters, and I sincerely hope that this…
— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) November 4, 2024
“In stark contrast, my team not only devised a comprehensive Recovery Plan, but also welcomed significant input from Nigerians, ensuring that our approach was inclusive and well-considered,” he said.
“Isn’t it fascinating how the so-called ‘tested’ Tinubu administration’s only policy response seems to be a national prayer led by the First Lady and the NSA? Just a mere 24 hours after I proposed my alternative solutions! What a bold strategy!
In a post on X on Monday, Abubakar said Tinubu was in a haste to take power “devoid of a coherent plan”.
I have taken note of the initial responses highlighting the striking disparity between President Tinubu’s faltering economic policies and the alternatives I have proposed. It is exciting to witness such a vigorous debate on these critical matters, and I sincerely hope that this…
— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) November 4, 2024
“In stark contrast, my team not only devised a comprehensive Recovery Plan, but also welcomed significant input from Nigerians, ensuring that our approach was inclusive and well-considered,” he said.
“Isn’t it fascinating how the so-called ‘tested’ Tinubu administration’s only policy response seems to be a national prayer led by the First Lady and the NSA? Just a mere 24 hours after I proposed my alternative solutions! What a bold strategy!
“In my humble interpretation of the scriptures, prayer indeed serves as a noble path to follow. However, the sacred texts also counsel us to engage in diligent labour and hard work.
“It is therefore uncharitable for Tinubu’s team to claim that my proposals remain untested.
“What remains unproven is the erratic, trial-and-error nature of the policies so far implemented by this administration, which elucidates our present predicament.”
Abubakar said when he was vice-president, Nigeria got to the pinnacle of Africa’s economies, but the administration led by Tinubu “has relegated us to a disheartening fourth position”.
“The average GDP rate under the Obasanjo administration that I served in was 6.59% and peaked at 15% in 2002; 7.98% under the late Yar’Adua administration and 4.8% under Jonathan compared to the dismal 2.8% of the so-called ‘tested’ Tinubu era,” he said.
“Enough of the pains of the shambolic ‘bolekaja’ economic policy prescriptions!”
Abubakar added that he did not lose the 2023 general election, adding that “the election was criminally stolen from the Nigerian people”.