A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, Sen. Nicholas Tofowomo, has absolved President Bola Tinubu of the present economic challenges faced across Nigeria.
Tofowomo who represented Ondo South Senatorial District at the Ninth National Assembly said the president should not be blamed wholly for the hardship Nigerians are facing.
The former lawmaker in an interview on Monday, August 5, 2024, noted that although the economic situation was exacerbated by fuel subsidy removal and other policies implemented by the Tinubu administration, the president should not take the blame alone.
He stated that the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari had removed provisions for fuel subsidy in the 2023 budget – as inherited by President Tinubu who only announced on May 29, 2023, that ‘subsidy is gone’.
“I was part of the ninth national assembly that passed the 2023 budget. There was no provision for fuel subsidy in the budget. So it was the Buhari administration that removed the fuel subsidy.
“The truth is that Tinubu inherited the budget; he only announced it during his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023 and took responsibility.
“So I don’t think we should put all the blame on him for the current economic woes,” he said.
Further speaking, Mr Tofowomo noted that the information strategy of the present administration was defective and the president’s information handlers were not doing enough to bridge the communication gap with the people.
He said, “I think the Sunday broadcast after four days into the #EndBadGovernance# protest was supposed to have come before the commencement of the protest.”
He further urged the protesters to the drawing board and embrace dialogue to chart a new course for the country as the president has affirmed that he is in tune with the people’s pain and demands.
