Economic hardship: Blame Buhari not Tinubu, says Arewa group

A coalition of pro-democracy groups in the 19 Northern states, Arewa Initiative for the Defense and Promotion of Democracy (AIDPD), has asked politicians from the region criticising the performance of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to stop such criticisms.

The group said this at the end of its meeting in Abuja to review the issues in the country.

The National Chairman, Shehu Abdullahi Ma’aji, who read the forum communique to reporters at a media briefing, stated that certain politicians and clerics from the North have been in a hurry to tag the Tinubu administration as a failure just a few months into its assumption of office.

The group insisted that the Northern critics were unfair to Tinubu, who inherited enormous liabilities from the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

He said, “Arising from our emergency meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, to review the State of the Nation, we, members of pro-democracy groups from the 19 Northern States and the FCT, make the following observations and resolutions:

“To commend patriotic Northerners and indeed all Nigerians who are cooperating and supporting this government in its bid to provide solutions to the nation’s problems despite the incitement by some unscrupulous politicians who are bent on inciting the masses against the government.

“That the world economy is currently not in the best of shape due to the Russian-Ukrainian and the Israeli-Palestinian wars, etc. We observed that the Nigerian economy is not exempted from this global economic problem.

“The current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited a lot of problems from the past administration of Muhammadu Buhari, which it is currently trying to address. For instance, the Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) had just revealed that the crude oil the country will be getting in the next six months had been sold in advance by the immediate past administration.

“That the solutions to the problems cannot be instantly solved but in a gradual pattern.

“That Nigerians should show patriotism by cooperating with this administration in its bid to finding solutions to the country’s problems such as inflation, corruption, insecurity – banditry and kidnapping that the country is currently facing.”

The group further revealed that some Civil Society organisations allegedly used by the opposition parties are planning to stage protests across the country to soil the image of the Tinubu administration.

“Those disgruntled politicians who are using some clerics through misinformation to issue statements condemning this administration without any good reason should desist forthwith in the interest of our beloved nation.

“We are not averse to any form of legitimate protest to show grievances to the government’s policy or programme, provided it is done in good faith and under the laws of our beloved country, Nigeria. We frown at the idea of sponsoring people to stage fake protests for the financiers to score cheap political mileage by discrediting the current administration.

“We call on all Northerners and indeed all Nigerians to continue to support the current administration in its bid to bring Prosperity to our nation.

“That we Northerners are not against Mr President and this administration. We will continue to support and pray for this administration to succeed.

“That the current administration is just eight months into office. It needs more time to deal with the problems it inherited. So we, the well-meaning Northerners, are praying and positively collaborating with the current administration for it to succeed.”