The Presidency has dismissed claims by the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organization Afenifere that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has failed Nigerians.
Afenifere had criticized the government, citing regression in human development, economic mismanagement, and democratic backsliding over the past two years.
In response, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Mr. Sunday Dare, described Afenifere’s position as biased and politically motivated.
“The statement from a factional Afenifere group raises serious concerns about a penchant and deliberate attempt to find faults and trade in deceit instead of objectivity. The group has found it challenging to accept that under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s comeback story is firmly underway,” Dare stated.
He further argued, “This is a jaundiced view, echoing the view of opposition politicians, one of whom the group supported in the 2023 election. A balanced assessment based on available data reveals a more objective and progressive picture, with significant achievements amid the challenges expected from a country like Nigeria with decades-old problems.”
The Presidency defended its economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the naira, which Afenifere had labeled as “economic deforms” causing hardship. Dare countered that these policies had yielded macroeconomic benefits.
“The removal of the fuel subsidy, announced on May 29, 2023, saved the government over $10 billion in 2023 alone, reducing fiscal strain and redirecting funds to other sectors. Unifying the foreign exchange market and the naira’s floatation aimed to address distortions in the currency market, boosted foreign reserves to $38.1 billion by 2024 and achieved a trade surplus of N18.86 trillion for the country,” he explained.
Addressing governance and fiscal discipline, Dare refuted claims that the administration had failed to implement the Oronsaye Report, which recommends merging or scrapping government agencies to cut costs.
“The assertion that the Tinubu administration has failed to implement the Oronsaye Report and instead increased governance costs is inaccurate. The Oronsaye Report, which recommends the merger or scrapping of government agencies to reduce expenditure, has not been fully implemented and has drawn criticisms; it must be noted, however, that the administration has made some efforts to improve fiscal discipline,” he said.
On allegations of corruption and favoritism, Dare dismissed Afenifere’s claims as unfounded.
“Afenifere’s claim that the administration favours ‘the privileged and connected’ through corrupt palliative distribution and mega-project allocations is questionable. Reports of palliatives being mismanaged or distributed through unverified channels have no doubt surfaced, raising concerns about transparency,” he acknowledged.
The Presidency also rejected accusations of undermining democratic institutions, describing them as baseless.
“Afenifere’s accusation that the Tinubu administration is pursuing a ‘one-party state totalitarianism’ and undermining democratic institutions is unsupported and lacks merit. The claim of neutralising the legislature and judiciary is also a false alarm. The claims of government-sponsored conflicts within opposition parties lack concrete evidence and should be ignored,” Dare added.
