President Tinubu inherited poor economy from Buhari – Arewa group
Eminent Nigerians in the North under the aegis of the Arewa Initiative for Defence and Promotion of Democracy, have said the harsh economic situation being faced by Nigerians is the fallout of the comatose economy handed over to President Bola Tinubu by his predecessor.
The Arewa Initiative which is also an amalgamation of Pro-Democracy Groups from the 19 northern states under the Chairmanship of Prof Shehu Abdullahi Ma’aji also stated that Nigerians should ignore sponsored protests staged against the Federal Government in Kano and Niger states recently.
Some Nigerians particularly in Minna, the Niger State capital, recently took to the streets, protesting the harsh economic situation in the country arising from recent hike in prices of goods and commodities.
Similar protests were also held in Kano and Kogi states over the hardship in the country.
Addressing the media in Abuja, the Chairman of the Arewa Initiative, Ma’aji, said pockets of protests staged in some states, were uncalled for, and the Federal Government is already addressing the problems.
Ma’aji further pleaded that an eight-month-old government was too early to be assessed, let alone criticised by people with ulterior motives.
The group noted that it consulted with various Northern stakeholders and that “the North is solidly behind President Tinubu and will continue to support and cooperate with him for the actualisation of his Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said, “The current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited a lot of problems from the past administration of Muhammadu Buhari which it is currently trying to address.
“For instance, the Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazagq and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had just revealed that the crude oil the country will be getting in the next six months had been sold in advance by the immediate past administration and the solutions to the problems cannot be instantly solved but in a gradual pattern.”
Ma’ji added, “Nigerians should show patriotism by cooperating with this administration in its bid to find solutions to the country’s problems such as inflation, corruption, insecurity – banditry, and kidnapping that the country is currently facing.
“Disgruntled politicians and other unpatriotic elements who have perfected plans to mobilise bogus civil society organisations to stage phantom protests across the country to smear the image of this administration should stop their evil machinations.”
The Arewa group, however, added that they are not averse to any form of legitimate protest to show grievances to government policy or programme provided it is done in good faith and under the laws of Nigeria.
