Challenges: Presidency urges Atiku to proffer alternative solutions

The presidency has urged Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, to provide better alternatives to challenges of the country.

It said these alternatives solutions will be a better option to the current position of merely mouthing the problems and attributing it to President Bola Tinubu alone.

Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, made the call in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

“Instead of mouthing platitudes every time in a bid to earn cheap political mileage, Alhaji Atiku who presumes himself as the leader of opposition should tell Nigerians what he would have done better if he had been elected President.

“Atiku should be honest enough to admit that President Tinubu inherited a weak economy, which to all intents and purposes and to ensure the survival of our country needs a complete overhaul.

“The economy was plagued by decades of significant fiscal deficits, a low revenue base, high external and domestic debts, and huge debt service burden.

“The national budget Tinubu met in 2023 showed that 97 per cent of revenue was to be spent on debt servicing, with little reserved for capital, thereby foreclosing growth and jobs.”

Onanuga said that Tinubu has been facing squarely the myriad economic challenges of the country since assumption of office in May 2023.

He said that the issue of oil subsidy removal by Tinubu was a strategy all the major political parties candidates outlined during the 2023 elections as a way to resolve the challenges of Nigeria.

He said that Tinubu, rather than take the easy option of maintaining the status quo of economic profligacy, chose to keep the economy afloat and set it back on the path of growth and prosperity.

“Tinubu is focused on solving our economic and security challenges. The fiscal and monetary policies his administration is pursuing are delivering unprecedented value to investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

“Nigerian Stock Exchange is outperforming others in the world and is now the best, not based on bubble, but record profits by many listed companies.

“President Tinubu acknowledged, on different occasions, that the reforms his government is implementing will cause immediate pains, but will usher in an era of prosperity in the medium and long terms.

“Minus Atiku, reputable local and international agencies who understand the situation the Tinubu administration found itself have commended the administration, having seen a policy trajectory that is clearly positive, realistic and sustainable.

“Atiku’s claims that the private sector is shrinking and that multinational companies are leaving our companies in ‘droves’ are not grounded on facts.

“His claim that the government’s policies have created intense cost of living pressures are also not grounded on facts as recent comparative cost of living indices show that Nigerians still enjoy the lowest cost of living in Africa.”

Onanuga said that the administration has also embarked on comprehensive fiscal and tax policy reform that would drive speedy recovery and spur economic growth.

He said that Nigerians and the global investment communities trust the ability and competence of Tinubu to deliver progress and shared prosperity to Nigerians.