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The All Progressives Congress on Saturday fired back at some opposition party chieftains in the country over recent attacks on the reforms and policies of the current administration under President Bola Tinubu.
The Labour Party’s 2023 governorship candidate in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, had on Friday echoed the recent criticisms from opposition parties when he stated that Tinubu’s reforms had plunged Nigerians into unprecedented hardship.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Rhodes-Vivour accused the APC government of indulging in wastefulness and an extravagant lifestyle. He alleged that the primary beneficiaries of the reforms were the President’s friends, bankers, and government officials, with ordinary Nigerians seeing no positive impact.
He said, “The people are experiencing unprecedented hardship. Today, over 70 per cent of people’s income is spent on transportation and food. They haven’t even started considering how they can afford accommodation.
“The only people who seem to be benefitting from these reforms are perhaps the bankers, those in government, and the President’s friends. How many Nigerians can honestly say they are benefitting from any reform right now?
“We are witnessing a culture of wastefulness and extravagance, which starkly contrasts with the dire economic situation the President claims requires urgent reform.”
However, speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, some APC leaders faulted the criticisms, claiming the reforms have blocked all channels for corruption under the current administration.
The APC National Vice Chairman (South-East), Dr. Ijeomah Arodiogbu, noted that the subsidy removal by the current administration has significantly limited corrupt practices that marked past administrations.
“The reforms have taken away any form of bounty from APC leaders, which the PDP people enjoyed for years. For instance, the issue of fuel subsidy was benefiting only the big players in the industry and political leaders. So, taking it away means that APC party leaders no longer benefit from rent-seeking that those in previous administrations enjoyed,” he said.
“In the past, during the PDP era, party leaders, because of the parallel exchange rate, would get about $100,000 at normal rates, maybe at N300 per dollar. But they would sell it at about N1000 per dollar. They didn’t handle any commodity or make any investment. They simply sought the rent and put it in their pockets. That was what was going on in the past. So, there can’t be a better administration than the current administration of President Bola Tinubu,” he added.
Also reacting, the APC chairman in Bayelsa State, Dr. Dennis Otiotio, noted that even though the reforms and policies of the Tinubu administration may appear painful, they are laying a solid foundation for a better Nigeria.
“The reforms that President Tinubu has embarked on are laying a solid foundation for a better future. Everybody knows that the fuel subsidy regime is wasteful and unaccountable. But no one was ready to make the painful decision of removing it. Since it was removed, so much money has accrued to the states and local governments. What President Tinubu is doing is something that will benefit all of us tomorrow, though the decisions are painful,” he stated.
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