Tinubu 

By Alexandra Dominic-Chukwu

The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has urged President Bola Tinubu to review his economic policies, stating that they are impoverishing Nigerians.

In a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Justice Faloye, Afenifere highlighted the adverse effects of Tinubu’s economic strategies and called for immediate reforms to alleviate the plight of the populace.

Reviewing Tinubu’s first year in office, Afenifere stated: “The economy has experienced severe turbulence in the one-year administration of President Bola Tinubu, worsening the previous administration’s economic legacy.”

Afenifere called for a better understanding of the economy to address the alarming rates of inflation, devaluation, increasing unemployment, homelessness, and poverty.

“Firstly, it is an illogical economic belief that subsidy removals and tax increases, which remove money from the economy, will stimulate economic growth.

“The adoption of flawed neo-liberal theories of subsidy removal and unbridled tax increases must be stopped since they always contract the economy. Our economy is no exception, as companies are folding up and leaving due to skyrocketing fuel and electricity costs, fuelling galloping inflation and a fall in real incomes.”

“These policies are crowding out the productive sectors of the economy from much-needed loans. The hikes in interest rates are not effective in curbing inflation because whatever loans are withheld from the private sector by the restrictive policies are flowing to the government, which is spending recklessly and pumping the same funds right back into the markets.”

Afenifere also criticized the policy of floating the Naira without moderating the excesses of free market speculators and hoarders.

“With 90 per cent of our foreign exchange derived from oil and gas, stopping government funding of the forex market was bound to lead to massive devaluation as witnessed. Our collective patrimony is not only meant to fund the political class but to stimulate the economy and improve the lives of the greatest number of citizens. This is the Afenifere standard of governance.”

“The problems inherited from the Buhari administration have been compounded by the inept management of the economy by the Tinubu administration, which, like its predecessor, is spending recklessly while seeking loans and additional taxes to fund its profligacy“, it added.

Afenifere further criticized Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State, stating, “Tinubu’s administration in Lagos State is credited for a hyped increase in Internally Generated Revenue that never translated into the development of infrastructure similar to that built by the Jakande administration. Unfortunately, it appears that President Tinubu is still possessed by this mindset of taxing the poor to transfer wealth to the privileged, especially cronies.

“We are inundated with all sorts of hare-brained tax schemes like communication and cyber security taxes, and even once toyed with mandating grossly underfunded universities to remit a percent of their earnings to the government purse.

“At the end of the first year of Tinubu’s administration, the question is whether our continued arrested economic development is due to corruption or incompetence.

“From failure to mine and refine crude oil to unjustified loans and excessive cost of governance, it is the people that are made to suffer the tragic consequences.

“This economic dispensation of ‘Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop’ must be halted before the socio-political fabric of Nigeria is destroyed beyond repair.”

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