The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has faulted the immediate past government of Muhammadu Buhari for failing to address Nigeria’s challenges, accusing it of bequeathing a comatose economy to President Bola Tinubu.
The National Chairman of the opposition party, Shehu Gabam gave the condemnation while appearing on Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
It would be recalled that Buhari of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) handed over to his party man Tinubu about a year ago.
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“I have said several times that Buhari’s government is the worst that Nigeria has ever had. It is the consequence that President Bola Tinubu is suffering from because he knew he inherited an economy that has collapsed”.
Following the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, the cost of living was pushed to new levels.
However, the SDP chieftain has faulted the moves, insisting President Tinubu’s reforms were rushed.
“He knew that he inherited an economy that had collapsed. His responsibility is to find the softer ways to revive the economy, not the harsh way because you cannot revive it in a day. When someone faints, it requires a lot of process to bring him back to life,” Gabam said but maintained that: “He inherited an economy that is in the ICU.”
Despite the reforms, inflation has reached historic highs, clocking 33.69% in April 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Gabam has accused the handlers of the economy of not doing the right things. But to make things better, he has some advice for the President Tinubu-led administration.
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The SDP chairman said, “what you need is strategic thinkers, strategic applications, and strategic implementation. It has nothing to do with rush hour.”
Gabam asked the Tinubu administration to go back to the basis and use the template already in place to revive the economy.
“There are records in the Ministry of Finance, there are records of successful management of the economy, both regimes, both military and civilian regime,” he said.
“There is a base, there is a template for him to follow. And then given the dynamics of the new generation that we belong to, the modern economy that we run, all they need to do is to re-modernise, reinject a lot of initiative, a lot of innovation to drive the economy.”
