By Adadareporters
Former chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, Dr Ben Nwoye, Monday, urged Nigerians, especially opposition political parties and pressure groups to engage in constructive criticisms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration rather than completely condemning his administration.
Nwoye, a lawyer, was reacting to criticisms trailing Tinubu’s address during Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Day celebration yesterday. Some had described Tinubu’s speech as clueless. While urging the opposition to show statesmanship, Nwoye however agreed that ‘Nigeria is on a reverse gear’.
Quoting him, “This is not the best time for the country. In the recent past, we have not had it any better. If an opposition decides to tear down the president’s speech, they can do that because it is politics. However, it is better to bring out solutions. We are not finished yet. We still have that hope that things could change. But Oct 1 shouldn’t be when to tell Nigerians that we are in a state of hopelessness. We have been through a civil war, and today we enjoy democracy. We have changed powers democratically.
“Tinubu talked about hope… I agree that the reverse has been the case. When I look back, I think the past has been better than our future. We need leaders who can reverse this. Nobody can defend that naira is becoming worse every day. We can’t see better infrastructure than past years. The economy has been bad. This is true.
“President Tinubu agreed to pay federal civil servants N35, 000 for six months as a result of the subsidy removal. It seems big, but in reality, it may not go anywhere. If you are leading, there is need to set agenda for the sake of hope. Something needs to be done beyond sending palliatives. Tinubu also talked about CNG vehicles. If we are saving money from the subsidy removal, people need to see the impacts immediately, or there should be a reasonable amount of time when their hope should be realised.”
