A former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has criticized calls from various quarters for Bola Tinubu to resign due to alleged poor performance.
Shittu, in an interview with Punch, argued that it is premature to judge Tinubu’s administration, which has only been in office for a little over a year.
Discontent among some northern politicians has been voiced, with complaints about perceived unfair policies and marginalization.
However, Kashim Shettima has refuted these claims.
In April, Abdulaziz Suleiman, a spokesman for the Northern Elders Forum, expressed regret over their support for Tinubu, noting the region’s increased security challenges and the lessons learned.
Recently, Bauchi State Governor Senator Bala Mohammed also joined the dissent, suggesting he would abandon his presidential aspirations if former President Goodluck Jonathan runs in 2027.
Responding to these developments, Shittu remarked, “The agitation from the North after just one year is irrelevant. It is also unfair and incorrect to view Tinubu as merely a Southern President. Bala Mohammed seems to be speaking on his own accord, and while he is entitled to his opinions, they do not concern me.”
“What I see are many frustrated political personalities. Owing to their frustration, they are thinking undemocratically and irrationally. If you run a democracy where elections are held every four years, you can’t start passing judgment on the leadership after a year or two and asking for a change of government. Such a call is treasonable.
“Again, did the problems in Nigeria come up this year or last year? It has been there in the last 30 years when successive governments were in power, including the 16 years of PDP maladministration. Since Tinubu came into office, nobody has accused him of corruption. We all know the previous government has been postponing Nigeria’s evil days. I am confident we will have relief to our problems solved within the next one year.”
The Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Lagos, Cornelius Ojelabi, expressed the same view in a separate interview with The PUNCH.
Ojelabi said, “They are looking for a candidate to fly and we have one already. We have a sitting President who has just spent one year in office. How do you then assess one out of the four-year tenure? It is not enough. We need to look at what the man has done in the last four years. He deserves to be given kudos and more time to see the realization of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The problem we are having is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. It is a global phenomenon and I can assure Nigerians categorically that things will get back as we move on. It is not an issue of whether the northerners are happy with Mr President or not. His focus is to see the economy of Nigeria around and make it much better.
“He is pursuing that with all seriousness and you can see the sort of reforms he has injected into it so that things can get better. Once we can achieve that, whatever form of validation anybody is agitating will be a thing of the past.”
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