A former member of the House of Representatives, Usman Bugaje, has claimed that President Bola Tinubu is incapable of addressing the numerous challenges facing the country.
Since the fuel subsidy payment was stopped and the Naira floated, Nigerians have been experiencing biting economic issues, sparking protests in some parts of the country.
Although the government has rolled out several plans to address the challenges, Bugaje maintains that Tinubu has no solution to Nigeria’s challenges.
”Today, it is everybody’s knowledge that Bola Tinubu has no solutions to the problems of this country….his government has failed to address the most essential issues,” Bugaje, a former member of the House of Reps, said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
He also berated the Tinubu’s government for pronouncing the fuel subsidy without plans to cushion the impacts of the policy.
Tinubu’s declaration of an end to the fuel subsidy era during his inauguration and the floating of the Naira – the country’s currency – triggered a hike in the cost of living and tripled the price of the commodity.
But Bugaje said that Tinubu’s government had little preparation before taking such a step.
“We had expected that when the new government took over, we were expecting that he would surround himself with expertise. We were expecting that for him to have announced the removal of the fuel subsidy, he must have had a plan – something that would address the consequences of that,” he added.
“You don’t make a policy without looking at the consequences and preparing to cushion the effect of that. But apparently, he did that without preparation.”
‘Sycophants around Tinubu’
Since the announcement, the government has reeled out plans – including palliatives – and had several meetings with labour unions on measures to cushion the impacts of the subsidy removal.
“I can see a lot of sycophancy around him (Tinubu). People are not engaging him. They are not telling him the truth and he seems to be very comfortable with the kind of people he has around him who don’t seem to have any ideas in their heads,” he said.
“They don’t seem to have any solutions to the problems that we have and they are always trying to find excuses.”
“If you want to know what is happening, talk to the pastors and imams,” Bugaje said.
But Bugaje has faulted government officials, especially at the federal level, for being out of touch with the plight of Nigerians.
He claimed they are bereft of ideas to address the problems emanating from the removal of subsidy and other challenges facing Nigeria.