You have inflicted unprecedented hardship on Nigerians, former minister tells Tinubu

A former Minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, Nduese Essien has accused President Bola Tinubu and his administration of introducing policies causing ‘unprecedented’ hardship to Nigerians, stressing that this could result in dire consequences as citizens may soon run out of patience.

Penpushing reports that Essien made this known in a statement and called on Tinubu to take urgent steps to reduce the economic hardship in Nigeria, stressing that Nigerians are struggling to survive and if pushed to the wall they will eventually lose patience.

The former minister, who was also a former House of Representatives member from Akwa Ibom State emphasized that the level of suffering across the country is unprecedented, as families are struggling to meet basic needs

Penpushing further reports that he said Tinubu’s policies may be well-intentioned, but exacerbating poverty and increasing inflation are hurting the most vulnerable Nigerians, just as he reiterated his opposition to the removal of the petrol subsidy stressing that the President was hasty in his decision.

The former Minister advised the federal government to reconsider its economic policies, re-think its approach, cut the cost of governance, fight corruption, and ensure that Nigerians are not plunged deeper into poverty.

‘The level of suffering across the country is unprecedented, except perhaps during the Nigerian Civil War. Families are struggling to meet basic needs. No amount of revenue generated into the federation or any of its units will be sufficient to run government at the present rate of corruption in Nigeria’, he said.

“It is inhuman to continue down this path without a clear plan to ease the burden on the citizens. Our leaders cannot continue to fritter the commonwealth of the country recklessly and ask the people to make sacrifices.

“If urgent action is not taken to stem the hunger, poverty, and discontent in the country, we risk losing the patience of the people, and that could result in dire consequences’, the former minister emphasisied

Penpushing also reports that Essien said Nigeria would be on the path to solving many of its challenges if it adopted true federalism and devolved development responsibilities to the regions, and called on government to implement the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference.

The former member of representatives added that a better federal structure would allow states and regions to better manage their resources and development, stressing that the regions, states, and local governments should be given more revenue since they are closest to the people.

Penpushing reports that he called for the amendment of the country’s electoral law to allow for electronic accreditation and the electronic transfer and collation of results, and equally condemned the lack of fair competition in local elections,

The former Minister pointed out that this allows the ruling parties in each state in Nigeria to win all elections each time, and equally expressed worry over the role of the judiciary in determining election winners.

Penpushing further reports that he declared that Nigeria may not survive another attempt at a flawed election and urged Nigerians to hold their leaders accountable and demand from them policies that prioritise the welfare of the people.

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