By Abiola Olawale
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has lambasted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over what he called the current state of Nigeria’s economy.
Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the president as “T-pain.”
According to him, Tinubu’s policies have been causing Nigerians pain and have increased hardship in the country.
In an X post on Thursday, Atiku described Tinubu policies as “haphazard and disingenuous”.
He tweeted: “The haphazard and disingenuous approach of the current administration to fuel subsidy management has been the reason we are in this current economic crisis in the country.
“As things stand, there will be no let up in the escalating inflation rate, which is drowning the material well-being of Nigerians. It is even more worrying that T-pain is undisturbed by the hardship in the country.”
Atiku’s statement came shortly after the retail outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) adjusted the pump price of petrol in Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.l, respectively.
In Lagos state, many NNPCL outlets sold a litre of the essential commodity for ₦998, about ₦150 higher than the initial price of ₦855
It would be recalled that several Nigerians had protested against alleged government’s inability to address critical problems, including rising hunger, inflation, security concerns, government inefficiency, lack of electoral reforms, and calls for stronger human capital development.
Many had expressed their dissatisfaction with the government’s handling economic issues, including soaring inflation and high cost of living.
The removal of fuel subsidies has been largely responsible for the worsening inflation, according to economic experts.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had reported that the headline inflation rate reached 34.19% in June 2024, up from 33.95% in May 2024.
However, since July, NBS reported a consecutive decline in Nigeria’s inflation rate.
According to a report released by the NBS, the inflation rate in August stood at 32.15%, a decline from 33.40% recorded in July and 34.19% recorded in June.
