₦airaland Forum

The Naira depreciated significantly against the Dollar at the foreign exchange market upon resumption of trading after Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day holiday.

FMDQ data showed that it weakened to N1669.19 per dollar on Wednesday from N1541.94 exchanged on Monday.

This represents an N127.25 loss against the dollar compared to the N1541.94 traded on Monday.

Meanwhile, at the parallel market, the Naira gained N10 to close at N1690 per dollar on Wednesday compared to the N1700 exchange rate on Monday.

DAILY POST reports that on Monday the depreciated marginally against the Dollar.

For months now, the Naira has continued to fluctuate against the dollar and other foreign currencies.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his Independence Day pleaded with Nigerians to be patient with his economic policies.

On June 14 last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria floated the Naira at the FX market which saw the value of the Country’s currency drop.

Nigerian Central Bank Says Currency In Circulation Now N4.1trillion With Only 6% In Banks

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown that the currency in circulation has reached an all-time high of N4.1trillion as of August 2024.

The report also revealed that currency outside the banks grew to N3.86 trillion in the month under review, which indicates that 93.34 per cent of the nation’s currency is in the hands of individuals and businesses, while only 6.66 per cent remains within the banking sector.

This trend highlights a persistent challenge for Nigeria’s formal banking system.

Despite efforts to drive financial inclusion and promote cashless transactions, a significant portion of the country’s money supply remains outside regulated channels.

Daily Trust reports that according to the data, a steady increase in currency in circulation, growing from N4.05 trillion in the previous month of July to N4.1 trillion in August, according to the Apex Bank’s Money and Credit Statistics.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had in August reported that the currency in circulation surged to an unprecedented N4.05 trillion in July 2024, marking an all-time high.

According to the CBN’s Money and Credit Data, this figure represents an 11.05 per cent increase since the beginning of the year and a significant 56.17 per cent rise compared to the same period in 2023.

Analysis of the data revealed that the year began with N3.65 trillion in circulation in January 2024, a stable figure reflecting a typical post-holiday economic environment.

February saw a modest rise to N3.69 trillion, a 1.18% increase from January, while March recorded a more substantial jump to N3.87 trillion, marking a 4.76 per cent month-on-month increase.

The upward trend persisted in April, with the currency in circulation hitting N3.92 trillion, up by 1.39 per cent from March, driven by heightened consumer spending during the Easter period.

May and June continued this trajectory, with the currency in circulation reaching N3.97 trillion in May and peaking at N4.04 trillion in June, representing monthly increases of 1.07 per cent and 2.11 per cent, respectively.

Timmi:
After all is said and done, it is now obvious that none looks after righting the wrong but all are looking to share in the booty. Again, it is the brainless zombies killed and maimed in these ego boosting protest that wins. It is a shame and it is a lesson to those joining the so-called fearlessinOctober protest that all are for sale to the highest bidder. The activists, the lawyer(SAN as they call themselves), are nothing but envelope collecting cretins devoid of conscience and sensibility.

AT 64, Nigeria is a total mess. It is a deformed adult child at 64! It cannot protect itself and depends on others for basic sustenance, even from resources it has in abundance.

A weak union, Nigeria, which got its Independence from the British colonial masters on October 1, 1960, is standing on false structural legs. Turning political logic on its head, a natural federation of more than 250 distinct ethnic nationalities of vast cultures, beliefs, and ideologies operates like a unitary state. Consequently, it goes around in circles, a bleak mimicry of an isomorphic state.

For much of its history, it has lost its way. It is crawling in contrast to China, which shares October 1 as its national day. And this is not a harsh judgement. China’s GDP is $17.96 trillion (2022) in contrast to Nigeria’s $252 billion!

The political class lives in denial, but there is precious little to celebrate for most citizens. The lofty hopes that independence birthed have vanished, made worse by the unprecedented cost-of-living crisis in the past year.

The ethnic nationalities cohabit in mutual suspicion, distrust, and disharmony. The malice is barely concealed. The competition of the early days after the exit of the colonialists has turned to hostile rivalry. The values of integrity, scholarship, and dignity of labour have disappeared, replaced by sleaze and morbid antagonism. Youths are fleeing, referred to in local parlance as ‘japa.’

The numbers are bleak. Islamic terrorism, Fulani herdsmen rapine, banditry, and separatist agitation consumed 63,135 citizens in the eight years to May 2023. The number has not improved under Bola Tinubu, the fifth President of the Fourth Republic, which began in 1999. The Fragile State Index compiled annually by Fund for Peace, puts Nigeria at No.15 in 2023. It is in the same company as Guinea, Zimbabwe, and Libya.

After mismanaging its abundant natural resources, Nigeria is currently a hollow repository of abandoned infrastructural projects. About 56,000 uncompleted projects dot the landscape. The World Bank says Nigeria’s infrastructure stock is 30 per cent of GDP. This is 40 per cent short of the 70 per cent recommended by the Bank. The African Development Bank notes that Nigeria needs $100 billion annually for 30 straight years to build its infrastructure.

The electricity output is dismal, a stark reality of Nigeria’s arrested development. Its continental peers, South Africa and Egypt generate 58,000 megawatts each; Nigeria is barely able to generate 5,000MW. The World Bank says 45 per cent of citizens lack access to grid electricity 64 years after flag independence.

The economy depends unwisely on oil revenue. Since 2014, oil prices have fluctuated widely, leaving Nigeria hanging by a thread. An economy then the first with a GDP of $510 billion after rebasing in 2014 is now the fourth in Africa with a GDP of $252 billion.

After over six decades of independence, the country with the largest population – 233 million – in Africa cannot feed its population. According to the 2023 Global Hunger Index, Nigeria ranks 109th out of the 125 countries with sufficient data to calculate GHI scores. With a score of 28.3, Nigeria has a level of hunger that is serious.

In education and the provision of social services, Nigeria is in a pitiful state. With 20.1 million, Nigeria’s out-of-school population is second in the world to India’s. The universities, beset by strikes, poor pay, and shabby infrastructure, are poorly ranked globally. A new policy to prevent under-18 students from university admissions is causing mass discontent.

With a sizeable number of medical professionals relocating overseas, the health of citizens is in jeopardy. The wealthy fly abroad for medical treatment. Medical tourism sets Nigeria back by $2 billion yearly, per the Nigerian Medical Association.

Fifty-eight years after independence, Nigeria went from bad to worse. That year, it gained global disdain after overtaking India as the global poverty capital with 87 million nationals. Unfortunately, things are much worse. In 2022, the NBS estimated that 133 million Nigerians lived in multidimensional poverty. The situation degenerated in 2023 after Tinubu cancelled the petrol subsidy that had kept transportation prices affordable and floated the currency. The World Bank said the twin policies added 7 million Nigerians to the poverty rate. Data by the NBS put the poverty rate at 27.2 per cent or 17.1 million citizens in 1980 and 69.0 per cent or 112.47 million in 2010. Multidimensional poverty is at 63 per cent and income poverty at 40 per cent, the AfDB said.

Its economy is disarticulated. This is reflected boldly in the 10 per cent tax-to-GDP ratio, one of the lowest in the world. The OECD pegs the minimum for economic development at 16 per cent tax-to-GDP.

Labour is poorly rewarded. Most states are struggling with the new national minimum wage of N70,000 per month. On its part, the Federal Government is incurring debt to pay federal civil servants, although the national debt stock crossed the N121 trillion barrier in 2024. The Federal Government serviced its debt by 74 per cent of income in Q1. There is a wide gap in income equality. Unemployment remains unusually high.

Unwisely, Nigeria is unwilling to change a political structure that has delivered discontent, agitations, and extreme privations. The political leadership is driving the system to ruination and implosion is imminent.

Its only positive claim is that democracy is in operation after the exit of the military from governance in 1999. That is as best as it gets. Elections, a healthy measure of democracy, are hollow; they end up in litigation and winners are decided by the judiciary instead of the electorate. This creates deeper fissures after each election cycle.

It was not so at the beginning. The 1963 Republican Constitution recognised the importance of federalism, which accommodates disparate interests, especially that of minorities. The three regions – East, West and North – developed at their own pace, begetting healthy competition and development. Those three regions are now atomised as 36 states. Most are not economically viable.

The misguided military coup of 1966 destroyed Nigeria’s incipient political soul. Since then, the country has experienced a three-year internecine war. Amidst renewed violence, Biafra separatist agitators are asking for their own country again. The North is defined by religious bloodletting, a sign that Nigeria is a failing state. Others are emphatic it has failed.

Nigeria has a few options left. One, it can continue pretending as a unitary state and eventually self-destruct. Two, it can instigate true federalism – the devolution of power to the constituent units as it was in the First Republic. Here, the federating units are co-equals to the centre, not subservient as it is currently in which they go to Abuja with begging bowls.

The third option is to negotiate a peaceful separation as occurred in the ‘Velvet (Gentle) Revolution’ in defunct Czechoslovakia in 1989 to form two countries – Czechia (originally the Czech Republic) and Slovakia.

Without taking any of this route, the ultimate cost is violent disintegration. The obdurate forces in the former Yugoslavia travelled this road with devastating outcomes as the country split violently into over seven countries.

The degenerate political class should redeem itself and avoid this at all cost, but delay is dangerous.

Punch Editorial Board

iwaeda:
Truth can't be covered for long. Those who claimed noone died at Lekki Toll Gate should remembered, people were around Mobil House, uncompleted building s around, LAWMA people behind the barb wire, God Almighty upstairs, Nlfpmod.

A social media user, Princess Banke Oniru, has alleged that some coordinators of the protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force shared millions of naira severally.

Nigerians attracted global attention after they took to the streets across the country in late 2020 protest to call for the disbandment of SARS, accused of extrajudicial killings, extortion, and torture.

At the twilight of the protest in October 2020, unarmed protesters waving Nigerian flags were allegedly killed after soldiers and police invaded the Lekki Tollgate, the main convergence point of the protest in Lagos State.

While there had been several controversies around the funds generated for the protest, with Feminist Coalition (FEMCO) facing public scrutiny over the group’s alleged inability to properly account for the funds received, some details emerged on Sunday about how funds from the government were allegedly shared by acclaimed coordinators of the protest

Taking to his social media account on Sunday, Oniru explained that while initial funds offered by the Lagos State Government were rejected, coordinators later shared several millions of money from the government.

She claimed she initially refused the largesse but later asked her assistant to pick it from a popular social commentator, Sarah Ibrahim, and she (Oniru) shared the money accrued to her as giveaways.

Oniru, with posts from the handle @HRH_bankeoniru, wrote, “Following the EndSARS unrest, and during the panel of inquiry, the Lagos State Government’s initial funding offer was met with resistance.

“@sarahibrahim and associates then consulted Mr. Femi Falana regarding the substantial sum proposed for advisory purposes. Despite Mr. Falana’s counsel to accept the funds as a gift, I deemed it incongruous to accept financial compensation from those we were opposing, fearing it may undermine our integrity.

“The first funds Sarah called me to pick up was N1.5m. The second was N1m. I have proofs. Messages to back it up. The #endsars coordinators shared millions of money severally. Going back and forth to pick a Ghana must-go filled with cash at Alausa Ikeja.

“On two separate occasions, I entrusted my personal assistant to collect money from Sarah, ensuring she took photographs for evidentiary purposes. Afterward, I shared images of the funds received on EndSARS United and Competent Nigerians platforms for public dissemination as giveaways. Adeshina Ademola Ogunlana of blessed memories was the only lawyer that stood genuinely for the endsars. He can never be bought.”

‘Lagos offered N100 million’

But countering the claim, Ibrahim explained that Oniru displayed “severe ingeniousness” in her allegations, adding that though the Lagos State Government reached out to her and offered N100 million, she never accepted the offer.

Tweeting from @TheSerahIbrahim, Ibrahim in a lengthy post on social media, said that after consulting her lawyers, she asked the government to use the funds in supporting Lekki Toll Gate victims’ families, and those who are injured.

She wrote, “So yes, I was reached by the Lagos State Government to offer N100 million. A meeting they were trying to have for months but I kept refusing because I was rightfully pissed at them.

“Finally, I attended one of the meetings after speaking with my lawyer Fusika SAN,

who then took me to also consult jointly with Falana SAN, on what to do. At one of the meetings, I attended with @akintollgate where one of Sanwo Olu’s commissioners apologised for what happened at the Toll Gate and wanted us to make amends.

“He spoke like a father, he was nice and very understanding and wanted us to make peace with the govt, and move on. Truthfully, his words calmed me. After all was said and blame passed back and forth, he stated there was a financial offer to us to cover for all we must have spent and gone through during the period, an amount of N100 million. Immediately I refused, I didn’t want to involve myself with it. And I spoke with Akin who agreed with my thought on it. I only requested that prosthetics be done for those who were amputated so that we can help them move around.”

She claimed that upon rejecting the monetary offer, she started getting calls from families of victims and she had to change her stance.

“So after, I started getting calls from the victims, I was pissed. I went to the lawyers and told them what was happening. The govt informed me that the money was in cash and it was to be given to me, that I should come and pick it up and do with it what I wish. So speaking to Falana SAN, he then said if the govt is remorseful and wants to finally help those they shot and killed at the toll gate, let me not block it but allow it to happen.

“I told Falana SAN that I personally did not want anything to do with the money and I did not want to go pick it up like the govt wanted, and I wanted to stay out of it, and he immediately right there and then, wrote a letter for me and told me to give to the commissioner stating that the govt should do it the right way. The govt stated that the money was in two ranches of N50 million each and so there were two letters one stating N50 million and another stating the total of N100 million.

“I insisted that the govt should just give out the compensations as instructed by the panel, rather than this ‘backyard assistance’ like my dad called it.”

Meanwhile, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s spokesman, Gboyega Akosile, was yet to respond to a WhatsApp message on Monday morning seeking the government’s reaction to the alleged funds paid to victims’ families and protest coordinators.

BlueRayDick:
They are just thieves. Th current IGP is doing everything possible to turn the police force into a revenue generating agency which they are not.

All of these is just for them to extort ₦5,000 from the driving public all in the name of E-CMR. By law their job cuts across safeguarding lives and properties. They don't need to extort ₦5,000 annually from us before they do their jobs.

naptu2:
Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi @Princemoye1

NewDea4:
You steal and you don't just walk free, you are worshipped as a god, by the same people you robbed

Racoon:
Hehehe! Bloody hypocrite deceiving the gullible zombies 🧟‍♀️

adenigga:
Source: https://dailypost.ng/Removal-of-fuel-subsidy-saved-N5.4trn-for-Nigeria-Gov-Abiodun

The senator representing Borno South at the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has decried the level of corruption in Nigeria.

According to NAN, Ndume made his position known while briefing newsmen in Kano on Sunday.

The senator said corruption has remained endemic in Nigeria because politicians who steal money are celebrated for doing so.

He said: “Our major challenge in this country is corruption. Up till now, we have no law that can proactively or reactively address the issue of corruption in the country. If you see somebody in our system, especially in politics or government and he is not corrupt, then he is lucky to be God-fearing. Otherwise, it is only in Nigeria that you steal money and you walk freely and you are celebrated.


ACJA: ‘Lack of functional monitoring Cttee impeding implementation in Kwara’
“If you come into an area like this, people would start lobbying you and prostrate before you even when they know that the money was stolen.

“It is only in this country that somebody had no money yesterday or last week, but the following week he buys 10 cars; buys jets and his brothers would fly with him, his mother would fly with him, his uncle would fly with him, and they would say Allah has blessed our son.”

Ndume said he had made several efforts to pass a law on unexplained wealth in Nigeria, stating that such endeavours never saw the light of the day.

He said he approached a former head of state if he could sign an executive bill to that effect but he declined.

“Up till now, there is no law on unexplained wealth Act in Nigeria and there is no Executive Order on it,” Ndume said.

He expressed concern over the hunger in the country and called for an increased cultivation of food crops to address the problem.

“There is hunger in the land and up till now we have not cultivated up to five per cent of our land, Nigeria is blessed with massive arable land,” the senator said.

Kobojunkie:
Why do I get the creeps anytime this convict opens his mouth to speak? I hope he is not entertaining the thought of running for the presidency or something of that sort.

The National Peace Committee (NPC) with a former head of state, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) as chairman and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah as convener has said it would convene a national stakeholders meeting in Abuja as part of measures to tackle the multiple challenges facing the country.

This is contained in a co-signed statement by the duo.

The committee said the 2023 general elections were marked by a renewed sense of optimism and desire for change among Nigerians.

They also said this optimism was demonstrated in the number of people who registered for the 2023 elections being 93, 469, 008 million compared to just 57, 938, 945 million registered voters in 1999.

“Nigerians believed that the 2023 elections would usher in an administration that would swiftly address the nation’s lingering socio-economic challenges.

“The preparations for the elections heightened the hopes for positive socio-economic and political change. However, the outcome of the keenly contested presidential elections amplified the regional and ethnic cleavages that have underpinned our journey of nationhood,” the statement read.

It said additionally, the well-intentioned policy of the government to improve the lives and well-being of Nigerians is yet to meet the expectations of the citizens and the economic strain is being felt by all and sundry.

It said, “This dire situation has fuelled frustration and discontent, culminating in the recent nationwide protests on hunger.

“The demands made during the protests reflect the deep-seated challenges facing the country and the urgent need for responsive and effective governance.

“In response to this and in line with its mandate to mediate and intervene in electoral and non-electoral matters that impact on the peace and stability of Nigeria, the NPC has decided to convene a one-day town hall meeting with critical stakeholders to discuss frankly and explore the pathways to support the government in addressing and overcoming the current socio-political and economic situation facing the country.”

The committee said the meeting will be held on 26th September 2024 at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja.

It said, “This meeting will provide a platform for constructive dialogue and collaboration, where the concerns and aspirations of the people can be discussed, and the outcomes are presented to the government.

“It is a crucial step towards bridging the gap between the government and its citizens, ensuring that their voices are heard, and their legitimate concerns addressed.”

A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, has said that the 2027 elections may never come to fruition, as the All Progressives Congress has destroyed and buried democracy in the country.

He also accused the APC of orchestrating a plan to ground Nigeria through misgovernance.

Secondus made this known in a statement on Tuesday, signed by his Media Adviser, Ike Abonyi, in reaction to Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State.

According to him, all indications suggest that the ruling party is on a mission to destroy democracy in Nigeria.
He noted that what occurred in Edo State over the weekend was “electoral fraud, conducted with no regard for the rule of law or respect for voters.”



The statement partly read, “From the results of all the off-cycle elections conducted in Imo, Kogi, and Edo States, the Mahmoud Yakubu-led Independent National Electoral Commission has shown no remorse for the disgraceful conduct of the 2023 election, which threw Nigeria under the bus.


“With the shameless boast by the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, that they will apply the Edo template in other forthcoming off-cycle elections in Ondo and Anambra States, it is clear that 2027 may not even happen, as the ruling party’s agenda is to create a one-party state by silencing the opposition.

“The beauty of democracy lies in opposing voices that check the ruling party, but the APC is set to ruin Nigeria with their misrule and won’t tolerate dissenting views.


Nigeria’s democracy is teetering on the edge because of election rigging. If the Edo election stands, it will be difficult to conduct future elections in Nigeria.

“The manipulation of the Edo election was blatant, beginning with the harassment and arrest of opposition leaders, as well as the compromise of key players, such as security agencies and electoral officials. The world is watching the disgrace we bring to this beautiful system of government, which other nations use to stabilise and develop their countries.”

President of Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man has said that the price of Dangote Refinery’s petrol is 15 percent cheaper than the ones imported by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.


The billionaire disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday.

His comments were weeks after NNPCL disclosed that it bought petrol from Dangote Refinery at N898 per liter upon lifting the company’s locally made petrol on September 15, 2024.


DAILY POST reports that the development had led to NNPCL’s announcement of new petrol price which rose to between N950 and N1,100 across filling stations in the country.

The petrol price controversy between NNPCL and Dangote Refinery had created confusion in the oil and gas sector more than a week ago.

However, Dangote clarified that at the time NNPCL bought its petrol, the state-owned oil firm also imported about 800,000 metric tons of imported gasoline, insisting that his product was cheaper than the one imported.


According to him, the petrol NNPCL announced that it bought Dangote Petrol was not the real price but the cost after the company had added profit and other expenses.

He stressed that Nigerians do not know how much NNPCL spent on importing petrol, noting that it was 15 percent more expensive than Dangote Petrol.

“There wasn’t a disagreement, per se. NNPC bought from us on the 15th of September at the international price, which they also bought, about 800,000 metric tons of gasoline imported.


“So the one that they bought from us is cheaper than the one they are importing.

“And so when they announced our price, the guy, I don’t know whether he was authorized. It wasn’t the real price. What they have announced is most likely what it cost them, including profit and other expenses.

“And then the other one is one that they imported. But the people don’t know how much they spend in terms of imports, but their importation is almost, maybe about 15 percent more expensive than ours, you know.


“So what they are supposed to do is to sell at a basket price, or if they want to remove subsidy, they can announce that they will remove subsidy, which is okay, everybody you know, will adjust it.”

Dangote had earlier stated that the Nigerian Government should completely remove fuel subsidy.

Meanwhile, recall that petrol marketers had disclosed that they bought NNPCL’s imported petrol at an average of N870 per liter.

Another electricity tariff hike may be introduced in October 2024 by the Nigerian Government as the country’s monthly power subsidy rose to N181,63 billion in September.

This comes as the electricity subsidy by the Federal Government rose to N181,63 billion in September from N102.30 billion in May.

In the last three months, the government paid N163.87 billion in July, N173.88bn in August, and N181.63bn in September 2024.

This comes after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced the removal of subsidies in areas categorized as Band A feeders on April 3, 2024.

NERC had revealed that the monthly electricity subsidy at that time stood at N140.7 billion.

Consequently, NERC approved an electricity tariff hike for electricity consumers enjoying at least 20 hours of electricity daily, raising their tariff to N225 per kilowatt-hour.

However, the decision generated serious outcries among Nigerians, including labour unions, educational and health institutions, whose electricity bills tripled following the removal of the subsidy.

In May when the subsidy figure dropped to N102.30 billion, the government slashed the Band A tariff to N206.80/kWh.

NERC said the reason for the reduction was due to a fall in the exchange rate of the Dollar to the Naira.

However, the tariff was jerked to N209/kWh in early July as the subsidy rose again to N158 billion in June.

Accordingly, in the period under review, the NERC put the dollar exchange rate at N1,494.1 in July; 1,564.3 in August; and N1601.5 in September.

As of September, the NERC maintains the benchmark gas-to-power price of $2.42/Million British Thermal Units based on the established benchmark price of gas-to-power by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in line with Section 167 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.

This indicates the rising cost of power generation in Nigeria.

The development coupled with the country’s inflation rate which stood at 32.15 percent in August 2024 had fueled speculations that there may be another tariff increase in the October Multi-Year Tariff Order unless the cost of power generation drops.

President Bola Tinubu has acknowledged that there is hardship in the land, blaming it on some actions of the past.

At a meeting with the Forum of Former Presiding Officers of the National Assembly, led by former Senate President Ken Nnamani, the President expressed confidence that Nigeria can progress through collaboration and inclusiveness.

”Regardless of party differences of the past and difficulty of the present, you still believe in me and what we all plan for this country.”

”I thank you very much; no one will do it better than us. I have travelled the world and seen how developed countries have done it for themselves through collaboration, inclusiveness and financial structure.

”Yes, there is hardship, but how did we get here? What did we do when we had very high crude production?

“We neglected our communities; we neglected the goose that lays the golden eggs; we forgot even to give them a good standard of living.

”We forgot to educate our children. Go round and look at the dilapidated schools. The education environment must be decent enough for pupils to want to learn.

”We can complain from now till eternity that the school enrolment is low. But did we do anything to encourage the enrolment process? We must ask ourselves because it is a matter of conscience,” he said.


The removal of petrol subsidy on the president’s first day in office had tripled pump price of fuel.

Additionally, the move to to unify exchange rate windows, also a day one policy, pushed the naira to an all-time low, trading at above N1,600 to a dollar from N600 to one dollar he met on May 29, 2023.

Inflation also worsened under Tinubu, making some of his supporters to turn their backs on him as stakeholders continued to ask his government to find lasting solutions.

Earlier this week, former military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, took a critical look at the living condition of most Nigerians and concluded that “the hardship in the land is getting out of control”.

Abdulsalami spoke in Minna, the Niger State capital, when he received the leadership of the Campaign for Democracy (CD), led by Abdullahi Mohammed Jabi, who paid him a birthday visit.

The CD delegation had asked him to prevail on Tinubu to find a solution to the hunger in the land.

The former head of state had lamented, “Everybody is crying of this hardship and it seems to be getting out of control. People cannot afford three square meals, the issue of transportation, the hike in fuel price, the hike in school fees for the children and the lack of funds in everybody’s pocket is making life difficult for everybody.”


However, Tinubu told his visitors on Friday that his administration is focused on delivering tangible results and making a positive difference in the nation’s infrastructure, food and energy security, education and long-term economic stability.