Tinubu support group accuses PDP govs dodging responsibility for economic crises

The Tinubu Media Support Group has accused governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of acting in a dishonourable and irresponsible manner by seeking to absolve themselves of responsibility for easing the burden of the hardship faced by Nigerians in the aftermath of the removal of fuel subsidy.

The PDP governors, in a statement, while appraising the state of the economy, warned that Nigeria was almost becoming like Venezuela.

To mitigate the socio-economic crisis and security challenges, the PDP governors renewed their call for state police and urged the Federal Government to tackle the declining value of the naira.

But the Tinubu Media Group, in a statement signed Thursday in Abuja by its Chairman, Jesutega Onokpasa, noted that being beneficiaries of the improved federal allocations should not be seen as being reluctant to act decisively to ameliorate the hardship of people in their domain.

“We find it insulting that people who are saddled with the constitutional responsibility of taking care of the welfare of the citizenry have the effrontery to make it look like it is the sole duty of the federal government to address challenges sparked by fuel subsidy removal.

“These PDP governors, like their counterparts in other parties, have in the last 8 months been receiving far more allocations from the federation accounts for states and council areas, yet they are opting to play the ostrich when it comes to bringing succour to Nigerians, feeling the brunt of the action.

“It is preposterous that governors who are members of the National Economic Council are comparing the Nigerian situation to Venezuela with its 190% inflation rate in a country where people use sackloads of cash to buy basic things. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s current inflation rate of 28.94% is at the same level as the August 2005 inflation rate of 28.2%.

“The governors had the temerity to urge the Federal Government to, ‘as a matter of urgency’, introduce initiatives when it is clear that the President Bola Tinubu administration has been active in deploying emergency measures as well as introducing long-term efforts to tackle food security.

“The President has twice ordered the release of hundreds of thousands of metric tonnes of grains. He has initiated efforts to inject compressed natural gas-powered vehicles into the transportation sector aside from the temporary measures he introduced during the Christmas holidays, but no one really knows what these governors have been doing with the improved allocations to states and local governments.

“We make bold to say that none of these governors have done anything serious to cushion the effect of the rising cost of food items in their states.

“So rather than heaping the blame for the rising cost of living on the Tinubu administration, governors across party lines should see themselves as change agents and collaborate with the federal government to address the problem,” it said.

The group also urged Nigerians to live up to their responsibility to hold state governors and local government chairmen accountable.

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