Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has said the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to listen to the cries of Nigerians and consider the alternative opinions of some experts on how to reposition the economy is making matters worse for the country.
Governor Fayose, who lamented the worsening state of the country’s economy said: “The reality the President must face now is that there is too much hunger in the land. Nigerians are hungry, they are suffering and the President should listen to those more knowledgeable than him in terms of management of the country’s economy instead of seeing them as threats.” The governor, who said reactions of the President and his men to divergent opinions had become predictable, added that; “This style of sending the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Department of State Services (DSS) and other agencies of the Federal Government against anyone that offers suggestions on how to rescue the country from total collapse is not in the best interest of Nigeria and its suffering masses.
” In a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said President Buhari should realise that “a nation of hungry people is a nation of angry people.” He noted that it was imperative for the President to seek help from economic experts in the country, “not minding their political, religious and ethnic affiliations.” Fayose, who particularly singled out two former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governors, Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Prof. Charles Soludo, who spoke at different fora last week, said; “Instead of adopting the usual style of trying to silence them with EFCC or ICPC, the President should listen to them and take their advice on board because they are expert in economic matters.
“It is no longer about politics. Rather, it is about preventing hunger from exterminating Nigerians and I am sure the president himself knows that hunger does not understand political parties.” Lamenting the plight of Nigerians under the ailing economy, Fayose said “A bag of rice that was less than N8,000 when President Buhari assumed office is now over N20,000. How can a civil servant that is earning N18, 000 minimum wage survive when his monthly salary cannot buy one bag of rice? “Even basic drugs and medicare are getting out the reach of the common people and the resultant effect of this will be avoidable deaths. As at today, a bag of cement is N2,200, increment of N600 on one bag in just one day. Within four months, exchange rate rose with more than 150 percent.”
