Atiku Abubakar Criticizes President Tinubu’s Economic Policies

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election, has criticized President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of failing to implement concrete policy steps to contain the crises of currency fluctuation and poverty in Nigeria.

In a statement issued on his official handle on Sunday, Atiku claimed that Tinubu’s administration has continued to cause untold pain and distress to the economy due to wrong policies.

He stated that the Nigerian economy would begin to find a footing again if the government opens itself to sound counsel and controls internal bleedings caused by corruption and poorly negotiated foreign loans.

Atiku specifically criticized Tinubu’s new foreign exchange (FX) management policy, stating that it was hurriedly put together without proper plans and consultations with stakeholders, leading to potential negative consequences.

He accused Tinubu of not allowing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the independence to design and implement a sound FX management policy that would address liquidity issues, regulate demand, and deal with FX backlogs and rate convergence.

The former Vice President suggested that a managed-floating system would be a more suitable option for Nigeria’s current economic conditions, where the Naira may fluctuate daily, but the CBN would step in to control and stabilize its value to curb speculative activities.

Atiku concluded by stating that he and other Nigerians cannot remain silent in the face of the government’s demonstrated poverty of ideas to redeem the situation, emphasizing the need for a change in approach to address the country’s economic challenges.