The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has condemned Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s first year in office, describing it as a period marked by “deception and hopelessness.”
Professor Usman Yusuf, a member of the NEF and former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), expressed these views during an appearance on ChannelsTV on Sunday night.
Yusuf criticized Tinubu’s administration for increasing the sense of hopelessness among Nigerians since his inauguration on May 29, 2023. He highlighted the struggles of citizens who are now dependent on palliative measures, a stark contrast to Tinubu’s campaign promise of “Renewed Hope.”
“People have lost hope. It pains me to see our people lining up to collect cups of palliatives. Renewed Hope has turned into hopelessness. People have lost hope,” Yusuf stated.
Tinubu has implemented significant reforms, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of foreign exchange windows. However, these policies have been widely blamed for the country’s surging inflation and increasing cost of living, leading to protests and widespread criticism.
Yusuf further lambasted the economic management team of Tinubu’s administration, labeling them as “tax collectors” rather than effective economists. He argued that their approach has driven millions into poverty and forced numerous children out of school due to their parents’ inability to pay fees.
“The last one year has been a year of nothing but deception, destitution and hopelessness,” Yusuf stressed, adding that: “From next week, they will start telling us their propaganda.”
Speaking further, the NEF member articulated, “What have they done to benefit the ordinary people? In a span of one year, they have brought millions of people back into multidimensional poverty, they have pushed millions more children out of school because their parents cannot pay their school fees.”
The Ex-NHIS secretary also whipped the economic management Team of the President, describing the members as “tax collectors” rather than “economists”.
“The economic team, to me, looks more like tax collectors than economists. Taxation does not grow economy; only production does,” he added.
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