Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, the chairman of the Reset Lagos Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), gave a negative evaluation of President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office in a recent interview with THE SUN. Pearse outlined a number of the Tinubu administration’s missteps and policies.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
Pearse began by condemning Tinubu’s announcement of the removal of fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, without proper planning or consultation. He argued that this decision had severe consequences for the economy, leading to skyrocketing fuel prices and widespread suffering among the populace.
Pearse stated that Senator Ningi had exposed them for padding the budget with more than one trillion naira. He mentioned that the president had gone abroad and taken about 1,400 people, indicating that this was a move to garner support for himself in order to secure a second term. He asserted that the president’s actions were aimed at ensuring his reelection in 2027.
“He (Tinubu) is just spending money to get support for himself in order to get a second term. He is doing everything to ensure himself a second term in 2027,” he stated.
He warned that the second year and subsequent years would be worse than the first year, citing signs that were already evident. He suggested that due to the president’s priorities, it would be challenging to separate the second year from the previous one. He pointed out that the N90 billion allocated for promoting hajj was essentially a tactic to rally support from Muslims for a second term.
He highlighted the disparity in spending, mentioning that while only N12 billion was allocated for renovating hostels of 12 higher institutions and N50 billion for student loans, N40 billion was allocated for renovating the NASS building. He argued that the president’s actions were primarily focused on promoting support for himself rather than addressing issues such as national security, economic improvement, or corruption.
He expressed concern that as the second year commenced, the president’s focus would continue to be on gaining support for the upcoming election in 2027, rather than on the welfare of the country.
“As we go into the second year, it is going to be all about to promote himself to gain support for 2027, and not to secure the country, not to improve the economy, not to fight corruption, as he used N50 billion to renovate the Vice President’s Lodge. He has unlimited access to our funds. We have never had it so bad, the second year is going to be worse than the first year in everywhere possible,” he said.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>