Pay More Attention To People’s Wefare In 2024, CUPP Urges Tinubu

IN its new year message to the nation, the Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, has come down heavily on the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what it called “total negligence of everything that can make the people comfortable and happy.

In a Press Release signed by the leading opposition coalition’s spokesperson, Comrade Mark Adebayo, the coalition frowned at the “seemingly reckless abandonment of everything in terms of policies that can positively impact on the lives of regular Nigerians since the inception of the Tinubu presidency”.

“Fellow Nigerians, it is difficult to say happy new year in this period of uncertainty, mass hunger, anger, insecurity and the abject lack of empathy or deliberate policy thrusts from the leadership of this country to make the lives of Nigerians better as the government of the day has engaged in seemingly reckless abandonment of everything in terms of policies that can positively impact on the lives of regular Nigerians since the inception of theTinubu presidency.

“From day one on May 29th, 2023, in fact within minutes of his inauguration as president, even before his departure from the Eagle Square where he was inaugurated, the country was thrown into unprecedented economic crisis and harrowing direct hit on the Nigerian masses due to the reckless and inhumane manner by which the fuel subsidy was thoughtlessly removed without first putting in place palliative measures that could assuage the excruciating impact of the subsidy removal. From then on till date, the inflation rate skyrocketed from about 20% in May 2023 when this administration took over to over 30% and still rising as a direct impact of the untimely and insensitive fuel subsidy removal.

“As a result, food and other essential household items, healthcare, transportation and education suddenly became luxury items beyond the reach of most Nigerians. The suffering in the country has so much escalated that the over 130 million multidimensionally poor Nigerians can no longer breath because of its suffocating impact on majority of Nigerians. The president himself witnessed this first-hand in his home state of Lagos when he travelled there on vacation in December when he was greeted by mass of Lagosians with the shouts of “Ebi n pa wa o, Åsiwaju”, meaning “We are hungry, Mr. President”. What a way to welcome a president home by his own people, in his strongest political domain. That is reflective of the general feelings about this government all over the country today.

“For the past seven months, President Tinubu has not demonstrated either capacity or the will to do anything differently to move this country forward from the retrogressive leadership identity of the past. If anything, he is merely consolidating on the perennial leadership failures since flag independence in 1960. Insecurity is worsening as witnessed by the hundreds of Nigerians massacred in Plateau state on the eve of the last Christmas and additional hundreds kidnapped, killed and maimed in Zamfara, Kaduna, Yobe and other states. Kidnappers have even returned to the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in a more daring manner. Kidnappings, armed robberies across the country and the menace of unknown gunmen in the Southeast have gone out control. There is no sign at all that we have a president who was prepared to govern this country in a way that it deserves.

“The only thing we are seeing is the presidency voting several billions to buy new cars for themselves and their cronies and family members, renovate their official residences and more billions of Naira for feeding themselves and their families while they don’t care about several millions of Nigerians who go to bed hungry daily. Nigerians are hungry and angry. The president’s so-called Renewed Hope Agenda has turned to a Dashed Hope Vendetta on the people of Nigeria. For the first time since the inception of this democratic dispensation, federal workers were not paid December salaries to enjoy Christmas and new year celebrations. There is no way to describe this than executive wickedness. This government must do something urgently to solve the challenges of mass hunger, mass unemployment, burgeoning insecurity and bloodshed all over the country. We call on the president to govern with the fear of God and the interests of Nigerians in the new year because the space for excuses and false hope advertisement has run out. The general consensus of opinion across the country today is that, so far, this government has only dispensed sorrow, suffering and disappointment to Nigerians. Even the president’s most vociferous supporters and Party members attest to this. The president must demonstrate capacity to govern in this 2024 and cut down significantly on reckless spendings on luxury items when most of Nigerians are suffering and hungry.

The opposition will continue to pay close attention to how the country is being run and continue to engage in constructive criticisms in defence of the people and justice.

In the absence of a better way to greet Nigerians in these tough times, we say HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.