The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has said that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is in no position to fault the ongoing global applauded economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu.
The reforms are widely acclaimed as necessary tools to put the country on a firm economic footing.
In a statement by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, it argued that the former Vice President and his media handlers do not know better than global ratings entities which have endorsed the reforms as timely, sound and well thought out.
The statement reads in full: “We are not totally surprised that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in his hurried bid to gain political traction has continued to dish out to the public statements to rubbish the high-value economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration since he once cited the Argentina model as best for Nigeria.
“We recall that in February 2024, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who was still smarting from his sixth record loss at the presidential poll, argued that the Argentine model of economic reforms was better for Nigeria.
“He claimed at the time that what President Javier Millei was doing was similar to his plan to rescue Nigeria.
“But today, the economic situation in that country is so volatile that it remains the largest borrower from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with significant debt outstanding including a recent $20 billion bailout.
“Nigeria, on the other hand, to Atiku’s chagrin, does not have any debt obligation to the Fund.
“Besides, we are aware that a few months ago, the World Bank described President Tinubu’s economic reforms as a frequent global reference point for reform conception, implementation and measurable results.
“Anna Bjerde, World Bank’s Managing Director of Operations, was specifically quoted by the international media as saying that Nigeria was frequently cited as a global case study example of a steady, credible reform leadership model, while praising what she described as the Tinubu administration’s dogged consistency over the past two years.
“Instructively, this is the same reform that the former Vice President and his media handlers are painting as one driven by ‘policy confusion, weak leadership, and a dangerous detachment from the suffering of ordinary Nigerians’,” the group said.
The TMSG maintained the existence of sufficient indices to prove that the former Vice President is fundamentally wrong on the Tinubu reforms.
“We make bold to say that Atiku does not know better than the reputable non-partisan experts and global entities which have variously affirmed that the reforms have yielded positive results in restoring macroeconomic stability, boosting investor confidence in several sectors of the economy, with foreign reserves increasing to about N50 billion in just two years, the highest in 13 years.
“The IMF had recently warned that Nigerians may face tougher economic conditions in the near term as rising food and transportation costs are not new especially in the face of the lingering global shocks which continue to squeeze household incomes.
But, shockingly, a former Vice President who hailed an Argentine economic model which brought more pain to Argentines is seeking to weaponise an innocuous comment by an IMF which has had nothing but praise for the Tinubu reforms.
“It beggars belief that an Atiku Abubakar who was very vocal during the 2023 campaign about the need for reforms, including fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification is now demonising the same policies even though he knew they would come with some pains.
“We are aware that because he is eyeing an African record as the highest decorated perennial loser in his seventh attempt at the presidency, the former Vice President has gone berserk, often going out of his way to rubbish everything the President Tinubu administration has done.
“Even more troubling is his claim that ‘at the grassroots, people are pulling children out of school because education is now a luxury’.
“But we are gratified that President Tinubu has affirmed that his government will not look back on reforms which are aimed at long-term economic growth, despite the initial difficulties.
“It is also worth noting that the federal government is working hard to ensure that vulnerable Nigerians are not left to the vagaries of the global cost of living crisis by launching a new “Grant for Vulnerable Groups (GVG).
“It is a new initiative under the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) to provide direct financial support and starter inputs to the poorest and most vulnerable households across all 774 local government areas to stabilise their livelihoods and enable them to progress towards self-reliance,” the group added.
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TMSG maintained that the Nigerian economy had since turned the corner, noting that the worst days were over.
It urged Nigerians to continue to keep faith in the capacity and sincerity of the federal government to deliver on its promises and that no amount of jaundiced posturing of the former VP and his fellow power-mongering crew would stop the nation from reaching the desired destination of attaining the greatest good for the greatest number.