- President’s Economic Team Looks More Like Tax Collectors Than Economists-NEF Member
- Says ‘Renewed Hope Has Turned To Hopelessness’
- FG Must Be Considerate On Minimum Wage, Labour Must Be Reasonable- Anglican Primate
As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu prepares to celebrate his one year’s anniversary in office, his administration has come under scathing attack.
The Matrix reports that President Tinubu assumed office in May 29, 2023 after winning a keenly contested election.
Tinubu, whose campaign mantra was ‘Renewed Hope’, introduced some sweeping reforms such as petrol subsidy removal and the unification of the foreign exchange windows, twin policies that have been vocally flayed by critics as Nigerians battle surging inflation and skyrocketing cost of living that have sparked protests and scathing criticisms in the country of late.
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Reacting to these changes and state of the nation, a political commentator and member of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof Usman Yusuf, says rather than inject the Nigerian people with some hope capsules, the administration of President Bola Tinubu has made Nigerians more hopeless in the last one year since assuming office as the country’s President.
Yusuf, a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme.
“People have lost hope. It pains me to see our people lining up to collect cups of palliatives. Renewed Hope has turned into hopelessness. People have lost hope,” Yusuf said.
With the inflationary pressure and the attendant effects on the economy, the Tinubu administration continued to placate Nigerians to endure the pain of the moment which it promised would be temporary.
However, Yusuf said “the last one year has been a year of nothing but deception, destitution and hopelessness”.
“From next week, they will start telling us their propaganda,” the NEF member continued. “What have they done to benefit the ordinary people? In a span of one year, they have brought millions of people back into multidimensional poverty, they have pushed millions more children out of school because their parents cannot pay their school fees.”
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The Ex-NHIS secretary also whipped the economic management Team of the President, describing the members as “tax collectors” rather than “economists”.
“The economic team, to me, looks more like tax collectors than economists. Taxation does not grow economy; only production does,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, has advised the Federal Government to be considerate while labour should be reasonable in determining the minimum wage for workers.
He tasked both parties with ensuring that the new minimum wage reflects the inflation rates and economic reality in the country.
Ndukuba stated this on Sunday at the Cathedral Church of Advent Life Camp, Abuja, while addressing journalists during his episcopal visit to mark the 2024 day of Pentecost.
The Day of Pentecost marks 50 days after the Easter Day celebration and brings an end to the Easter season.
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The cleric, while reacting to questions about the fruitless meeting between the federal government and organised labour a few days ago, called for dialogue to avoid future strikes by workers.
He called for consideration on the part of the government and asked the NLC to be reasonable with its demands
“With the inflation and situation in the country, where families do not know what to eat and how to provide for their needs. All we are asking is for the NLC and TUC to be reasonable in their requests and demands, while the government should be considerate.
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“Somebody said it is the minimum wage for maximum suffering. By this it means if we demand a minimum wage that will make inflation get out of hand, we will end up in maximum suffering.
“What NLC and TUC are asking for is for our good, and they need our support, but other aspects need to be put into consideration,” he said.
