Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, has slammed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing him of doing very little or nothing to solve the hunger issues Nigerians are going through.
In a statement by its National Secretary, Chief Peter Ameh, the Coalition said the President had deployed what it described as incompetent government policies which have all failed, wondering why Nigerians would now offer themselves as burnt offerings while government officials lived in luxury.
The Coalition further noted that the inability of the government to secure farms and farmers in the country was also a major contributor to the hunger being faced by the people.
“The luxurious lifestyle of our leaders is the reason we are in this mess, because those in government have misplaced priorities and have vehemently refused to do right by our people.
“Rather they prefer to spend money on white elephant projects that require high expenditure but never deliver returns or serve no useful purpose, like the proposal for a new private jet for the President.
“Such money should have been channeled towards the development of projects that will have lasting positive impact on the lives of citizens,” Ameh said in the statement.
He added that, “The President and his Vice have spent over N8.64bn on travel expenses within the last three months while he continues to give speeches and false promises about plans to cut public spending; still, the cost associated with the running of government in Nigeria is far higher than most countries in the same economy bracket.
“The wasteful spending of those elected to oversee the affairs of running our government is a major contributor to the endemic poverty in Nigeria and the president should be concerned about the situation of the suffering masses and work hard to ensure that this situation improves for those affected (which is everyone by the way).
“Nigeria has a poverty rate of 38.9%, and approximately 87 million Nigerians live below poverty line and the reason can easily be attributed to incompetent and clueless leaders who have done nothing to improve the lives of the masses.
“Nigeria’s economic growth has been slow, and the country’s GDP per capita has been flat because successive government policies have failed to address the problems due to lack of foresight and corrupt public officials.
“Corruption is a pervasive issue in Nigeria, and it discourages foreign investment and hinders economic development. I am referring to corruption in public office by government officials who have been involved in stealing public funds meant to benefit the people.
“What has Tinubu done to tackle that since his assumption of office and he is talking about ordinary citizens whose take home pay is not enough to help them meet a good standard of living.”