The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has said that “economic downturn” being faced by Nigerians was caused by the mismanagement of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
With renewed concerns over the high cost of living since the inception of the Bola Tinubu administration, Afenifere faulted those criticising the President saying they are still pained by his electoral victory.
“Those sleeping and snoring during the eight years of Buhari suddenly woke up. They forgot that these remedial actions should have been taken many years back. The major sins of PBAT reside in his daring to contest and win the presidential election,” a statement on Friday by the group’s National Organising Secretary, Kole Omololu; Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi read.
Tinubu on the inception of office in May 2023, ended the fuel subsidy regime while also unifying the country’s foreign exchange.
The decisions, Afenifere said, Buhari shied away from and the President should be praised for.
The group also accused the former President of not cautioning embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who it claimed printed N22.7 trillion through Ways and Means.
The former CBN chief is currently facing prosecution by the country’s anti-graft agency on corruption charges including the impersonation of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to illegally obtain a sum of $6.2m.
Afenifere said Emefiele’s inactions were one of the reasons the country has found itself in this economic crisis.
“President Buhari could not rein in on his critical officials like the then Governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who was printing money rather than facing the reality of taking the difficult decisions, which were postponed till the evil day.
“A probe panel was reported to have accused Godwin Emefiele and his team of printing N22.7 trillion through Ways and Means. We remembered that we were borrowing to pay salaries and pensions during the years of the Buhari administration.
“It was, therefore, obvious that we were simply postponing the evil day. The CBN Governor denied leaks flying around that the books were being doctored. He reassured the federation that all was well. He even wanted to contest the presidential election! There were no penalties for his infractions by President Buhari. These inactions and false lives continued till May 29, 2023, when the new helmsman, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, was sworn in as President,” the statement added.
On insecurity, the group stated that Buhari’s government was also at fault saying it lost the daughter of it leader under his watch.
The group urged “some elder statesmen” to stop making inflammatory comments but work to deepen the country’s “peaceful co-existence to navigate through current challenges”
It called for a return to true and fiscal federalism with state police as one of the solutions to present challenges.
It also urged the government to regularly hold town hall meetings across the country where ministers will go back to their constituencies to engage with the people.
(Punch)
