The Allied People’s Movement (APM), Lagos State, strongly condemns President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s astonishing attempt to blame his political opponents for the hunger and poverty ravaging Nigeria, describing the statement as an unfortunate effort to shift responsibility away from the government that Nigerians elected to improve their lives.
Speaking at the APC presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna, President Tinubu declared that his opponents created hunger and poverty while his administration was supposedly working to eradicate them. Such a statement raises a fundamental question: How can opposition leaders who do not control the Federal Government be held responsible for the consequences of policies implemented by the President and his administration?
Nigerians deserve answers, not blame games.
Let us examine the facts.
- ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR — AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS (ADC)
Atiku Abubakar served as Vice-President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He left office almost two decades ago and has not been President of Nigeria. He is now a presidential contender under the African Democratic Congress.
While Nigerians can debate the successes and shortcomings of the administrations in which he served, it is unreasonable to suggest that Atiku alone created the hunger and poverty confronting the country today.
Nigeria has experienced different administrations, economic policies and global challenges since his departure from office. Why should an opposition candidate be held solely responsible for the present economic situation while the incumbent President controls the federal machinery of government?
- PETER OBI — NIGERIA DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS (NDC)
Peter Obi was Governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, with a brief interruption in his tenure. He left office more than a decade ago and has never served as President of Nigeria.
As a former state governor, his constitutional responsibilities were primarily directed at the governance of Anambra State, not the management of Nigeria’s national economy.
How, therefore, can a former governor who left office years ago be blamed for the nationwide economic consequences of decisions taken by successive federal administrations?
President Tinubu must explain the connection rather than make sweeping political accusations against his opponents.
- GOVERNOR SEYI MAKINDE — ALLIED PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT (APM)
Governor Seyi Makinde, the presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement, is the serving Governor of Oyo State. His mandate is to govern Oyo State, and he is not in charge of the Federal Government’s fiscal, monetary, foreign exchange or national petroleum policies.
Makinde’s record in Oyo State should be assessed on the basis of his administration’s policies, achievements, shortcomings and impact on the people of that state.
He cannot reasonably be held responsible for federal economic decisions over which he has no executive control.
The pertinent question is this: What federal economic powers do these opposition candidates currently exercise that make them responsible for the hardship Nigerians are experiencing?
The President cannot exercise the powers of his office, make consequential economic decisions and then turn around to blame political opponents who do not control the federal government.
NIGERIANS KNOW WHO IS IN CHARGE
Since assuming office in May 2023, President Tinubu’s administration has implemented major economic changes, including the removal of the petrol subsidy. The government has defended these measures as necessary reforms, but Nigerians have also experienced severe pressure on their purchasing power and cost of living.
These are not imaginary complaints manufactured by opposition politicians. They are realities that families, workers, traders, transport operators, artisans and business owners confront daily.
When the price of food rises beyond the reach of ordinary families, when transportation consumes a disproportionate share of household income, and when small businesses struggle with operating costs, Nigerians have every right to demand explanations from the government in power.
Opposition parties did not appoint the President, control the federal budget or determine the policies of the current administration. The APC controls the Federal Government and must accept responsibility for explaining the outcomes of its decisions.
This is not to suggest that previous administrations were without shortcomings. Every government must be judged honestly on its record. However, historical responsibility cannot become an excuse for evading present accountability.
WHY BLAME THE OPPOSITION FOR SPEAKING ABOUT HUNGER?
The President’s statement also raises another troubling question: Is the opposition responsible for hunger simply because it speaks about hunger?
If Nigerians are hungry, the responsible response from a President should be to explain what his government is doing to reduce food prices, create jobs, strengthen purchasing power and improve living standards.
If poverty is increasing, the answer should be measurable interventions, transparent economic management and policies that put money back into the pockets of ordinary citizens.
A government that promises prosperity must demonstrate that prosperity in the lives of its people.
The opposition has a constitutional and democratic responsibility to question government policies, expose failures and present alternative solutions. Criticising economic hardship is not the creation of poverty; it is the exercise of democratic accountability.
You cannot blame the thermometer for the fever, and you cannot blame opposition politicians for pointing out the suffering of Nigerians.
APM OFFERS A DIFFERENT VISION FOR NIGERIA
The Allied People’s Movement believes that the Nigerian people deserve leadership that accepts responsibility, listens to criticism and puts citizens’ welfare ahead of political excuses.
Our presidential candidate, Governor Seyi Makinde, brings his experience of governing Oyo State to the national conversation. We believe his approach to governance offers Nigerians an alternative worth examining, while our governorship candidate in Lagos, Prince Laja Adeoye, is committed to the Atunto Eko agenda of resetting Lagos for the benefit of its residents.
For Lagosians, the question is particularly urgent. They contend daily with transportation costs, rising food prices, housing pressures, waste management challenges and the burden of making ends meet in one of Nigeria’s most expensive cities.
The people need practical solutions, not political finger-pointing.
We therefore challenge President Tinubu to tell Nigerians precisely how Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Seyi Makinde, none of whom currently exercises presidential executive power, supposedly created the present nationwide hunger and poverty.
Which specific federal policies did they implement? Which federal budgets did they control? Which decisions concerning the removal of petrol subsidies and the management of the national economy did they make as the current opposition?
If the President cannot provide credible answers, his statement should be recognised for what it is: political rhetoric that does nothing to put food on the tables of struggling Nigerian families.
CONCLUSION
The Nigerian people are not interested in a contest over who can assign blame most loudly. They want affordable food, decent jobs, reliable electricity, accessible healthcare, quality education, affordable transportation and a government that treats their welfare as its primary responsibility.
President Tinubu has the mandate, the authority and the instruments of the Federal Government. With that authority comes responsibility.
Hunger does not recognise political parties. Poverty does not ask for party membership cards. And suffering Nigerians should not be turned into instruments of political blame-shifting.
The APM calls on the President to abandon the politics of accusation and focus on delivering the prosperity he promised Nigerians.
The people will ultimately judge every contender by the policies they propose, the records they present and the results they deliver.
Nigeria First.
Signed:
Ayodele Kazeem Olalekan
State Publicity Secretary
Allied People’s Movement (APM), Lagos State
