The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu, accusing it of implementing key economic reforms without adequate planning and failing to address the country’s most pressing challenges.
Speaking during an appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Friday, Baba-Ahmed argued that the Federal Government rushed into the removal of the petrol subsidy without carrying out sufficient groundwork to assess the likely consequences of the policy.
According to him, a decision of such national importance should have been preceded by a comprehensive evaluation of its potential benefits, risks, opportunities and long-term implications for both the economy and ordinary Nigerians.
He maintained that the subsidy removal was not properly planned before President Tinubu assumed office and stressed that governments have a responsibility to fully understand the impact of major economic reforms before implementing them.
Baba-Ahmed further stated that Nigerians were not adequately prepared for the economic hardship that followed the policy, insisting that measures to cushion its effects should have been put in place before the subsidy was scrapped.
The former presidential adviser also criticised the Tinubu administration for what he described as its inability to tackle key national issues, including insecurity, the high cost of living and corruption.
While acknowledging that President Tinubu assumed office with strong political credentials and high public expectations, Baba-Ahmed argued that the administration has not delivered on the critical reforms many Nigerians anticipated.
He said despite increased government revenue, the living conditions of citizens have continued to worsen.
“The President came to power with fairly good credentials. You would think a man who is so ambitious and who said, ‘It’s my time,’ would come to power and tackle some of the most fundamental problems of this country— insecurity, cost of living and corruption. He did none of those things.
“Now we’re here. Nigeria is making so much money, and yet poverty levels are rising, insecurity is rising and corruption is rising,” Baba-Ahmed stated.
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