Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a scathing critique of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing it of failing to fulfill wage award promises to federal civil servants while suppressing democratic dissent.
In a strongly-worded Sunday statement, the 2023 presidential candidate highlighted the government’s failure to fully implement the ₦35,000 monthly wage award meant to cushion fuel subsidy removal effects.
“That promise, like many others under this government, has become a broken covenant,” Atiku declared.
The former VP detailed the payment delays: “It took the Tinubu administration a staggering 10 months to arrive at a new minimum wage figure. By implication, the Federal Government owes 10 months of wage award arrears to federal workers. Yet, only six months have been paid and that too after a series of unfulfilled assurances and avoidable delays.”
Atiku calculated the outstanding payments at ₦140,000 per worker, stressing this relief remains critical as citizens endure economic turmoil. He traced the crisis to Tinubu’s inauguration day decision: “When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hastily and thoughtlessly removed fuel subsidy…he triggered an economic avalanche that has since buried the average Nigerian under the weight of inflation, hunger, and despair.”
The statement also condemned recent authoritarian tendencies, particularly the arrest of labour activist Andrew Uche Emelieze who organized protests demanding the unpaid wages.
“His only ‘crime’ was speaking up for workers abandoned by the state,” Atiku stated, demanding “immediate and unconditional release” of the detained activist.
While acknowledging some state governments’ responsible handling of labour issues, Atiku contrasted this with the Federal Government’s “callous indifference and utter disdain for workers’ welfare.” He warned that repression wouldn’t silence workers or solve the crisis: “The economic hardship is real, the hunger is biting, and the government has a duty to act, not repress.”
