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By Myke Agunwa
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the recent outcry by key figures in the mega coalition that accused the present administration of weaponizing poverty to perpetuate itself in power as another attempt by displaced rent seekers to satiate their voracious appetite, which has long stifled and denied progress to the economy.
Recall that the coalition force manned by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in sync with former governors of Kaduna, Rivers and Anambra State, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi and Peter Obi respectively, had on Saturday during the 60th birthday celebration of the former Rivers State governor, declared that the present administration is weaponizing poverty so that Nigerians will be too hungry and unable to make the right choices during the 2027 general election.
Reacting to the development, the ruling party, in a statement by Felix Morka its National Publicity Secretary, on its X handle on Monday, described the allegation that President Bola Tinubu was “weaponizing” poverty by not eradicating the scourge in two years as baseless.
Morka described Atiku, Amaechi, and El-Rufai as displaced rent-seekers desperate to grab power purely for their self-aggrandizement. He said that as beneficiaries of the corrupt and inefficient economic system, the trio are discomforted that Tinubu’s reforms are dismantling the insidious and permissive system that enabled and sustained their reckless plunder and exploitation of the economy.
“These three individuals have occupied Nigeria’s highest political offices between 1999 and 2023, either as Vice President, Governors, or Ministers, among other important positions. In all 24 years, the trio, individually or collectively, could not and did not eradicate poverty in their states or the country. They did not even attempt to address, let alone tackle, the structural challenges and distortions that stifled the economy and worsened poverty over the years.
“Rather, they reveled in mindless rent-seeking behavior, sold national assets to their cronies for mere pittance, engaged in corrupt and wasteful expenditures in their states, and relentlessly sponsored state violence against their own people,” the statement read in part.
He noted that Amaechi served for an unbroken total of 24 years – eight years as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, eight years as Governor of Rivers State, and eight years as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, feeding on state resources, with no record of attempting to combat poverty in his Rivers State.
“When Amaechi declared, ‘I am hungry,’ he must mean, and must be understood to mean, that he is hungry and desperate to return to his felt entitled dependency on state resources and patronage. That he is hungry barely two years out of office simply underscores the depth of the self-serving motivations of Amaechi and his coalition partners in their quest for power for selfish exploitation, and not for the interest of the people, ” the statement read in part.
He also said that it is the failure of previous administrations, particularly 16 years of PDP administration, to allow the Naira to find its real value that created the economic conditions of poverty that the present administration is now addressing.
The naira according to him was overvalued Naira previously and it stifled local production, encouraged import dependency, and exacerbated poverty adding that Atiku and Peter Obi, who are now vociferously criticizing President Tinubu’s policies, amassed their wealth from the very import-dependent system they are desperately trying to preserve.
He said that in two years, Tinubu has demonstrated political will to tackle structural barriers to the country’s economic growth and development far more than any other President in Nigeria’s modern history by his bold economic reforms. He said that Tinubu is systematically building the most potent bulwark against poverty and positioning the economy to deliver sustained and sustainable growth and prosperity for all Nigerians.
“Nigerians in productive sectors are reaping the benefits of reforms that have increased opportunities and income. Entrepreneurs, farmers, and service providers are thriving, while rent-seekers like Amaechi and his coalition partners are left seething with rage at the disruption of their ability to milk the system for personal gain as before.
“The removal of fuel subsidies has been a game-changer. It ended massive corruption that plagued the fuel subsidy enterprise, eliminated perennial shortages and queues at petrol stations, and has sparked a surge in investments in the oil and gas and other sectors of the economy, further expanding opportunities for businesses and individuals.
“The harmonisation of multiple exchange rates has further bolstered Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global market for goods and capital. With increased revenue, the federal, state, and local governments are now investing more in critical infrastructure, education, health, security, and social welfare.
“Importantly, states that previously struggled to pay N30,000 minimum wage are now paying a significantly higher minimum wage of N70,000 per month. This is a testament to the administration’s commitment to improving the welfare of Nigerians.
“Our trade balances are seeing a drastic improvement, with a sharp decline in imports and a steep rise in exports, reporting impressive trade surpluses and economic growth rate of 4.6 percent in the last quarter of 2024, representing the highest growth rate in a decade amid a significant decline in the global price of crude oil”.
The ruling party said that the administration’s reforms may have transient higher cost of living implications challenges, adding that the reforms are indispensable to securing a more sustainable economy that rewards hard work, innovation, and entrepreneurship.