- We’re proud of our achievements so far – Onanuga Tells Atiku
The Presidency on Monday boasted that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has done well and is proud of its achievements in the last two years.
According to the Presidency, the administration is making steady progress in many areas despite that many of today’s challenges arose from the economic mismanagement during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s years.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who delivered the self-appraisal verdict of a ‘great job’ done, was replying to remarks by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar that there is hunger and poverty in the country.
Onanuga said such self-serving comments were no longer acceptable, insisting that some of the problems the present government is battling with were created during the years when Atiku was Vice President.
“Ironically, many of the challenges we face today stem from the economic mismanagement during the PDP years, when Atiku was Vice President. President Tinubu and his team are working relentlessly to correct those errors, with bold reforms”, the Presidential Aide said
According to Onanuga, “talk is cheap”, noting that Atiku and his handlers were clearly out of touch with the positive developments currently unfolding in our country.
He said Atiku’s claim that hunger is ravaging Nigeria, and their “comparison of our situation to the unrest in France before the 1789 Revolution or the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, is grossly misleading.”
The Presidential Spokesman further maintained that Atiku’s latest comments demonstrated a disconnect from the authentic Nigerian reality, adding, “recent data tells a different story. Just today, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its figures for August, showing that headline inflation has declined for the fifth consecutive month.
“Over the weekend, the NBS also reported a record trade surplus, with the contribution of non-oil exports to our trade balance now nearly matching that of crude oil at a ratio of 48:52 per cent.
“Our foreign exchange reserves are on the rise, now approaching $42 billion. When President Tinubu assumed office, reserves stood at $32 billion, much of it encumbered. This administration has since cleared over $7 billion in arrears, including $800 million owed to airlines.”
Highlighting that Nigeria is recording unprecedented revenues inflow under President Tinubu, he said States are now able to pay salaries and gratuities promptly and still have surplus funds for capital and social projects.
Onanuga said this represents “an achievement not previously witnessed at this scale”, adding, “After just two years and five months in office, we are proud of the progress being made under President Tinubu’s leadership.
“Atiku and his allies may choose to ignore these gains, but Nigerians can see and feel the positive changes taking place across the nation.”
The former Vice President had on Monday lamented that over two years after taking over governance in the country, there are no signs that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has the capacity to address the prevailing hunger and poverty in the country.
Describing hunger in the country as unacceptable, especially among the underprivileged poor and down-trodden, Atiku warned that, “most violent socio-political eruptions and revolutions all over the world had often been powered by pervasive hunger and unbearable material conditions, especially the paradox of squalor amidst plenty in our land.”
