Hunger Protest: Your Broadcast Does Not Address Issues Of Protest APC Chieftain Tells Tinubu

…Says Port Harcourt Refinery Has Remained Moribund After Gulping Hundreds Of Billion Under Your Govt

Eze one time spokesperson for nPDP and a member of the APC Media Legacy Project Committee, I must state that what Tinubu is currently superintending is not the vision of APC that most of us risked our lives to bring to be in government during 2015.

Erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s broadcast on the nationwide protest against hunger and bad governance in Nigeria, describing it as shallow and grossly out of tune with the concerns that triggered the countrywide demonstration.

In a statement made available to the media, the party Chief said Nigerians would have loved to hear the President outline the policy inclination of his administration in addressing the very genuine concerns of Nigerians including the flamboyant costs incurred in running public offices and the lavish lifestyle of government functionaries.

“The President in his broadcast overlooked critical issues constituting a clog and stunting the growth of our country and her people such as high cost of governance, corruption, judicial rascality, corrupt electoral umpire, hunger, unemployment, harsh impact of fuel subsidy removal, armed banditry and general insecurity, high cost of living and more. So the broadcast seeks to discredit the substance of the ongoing protests and therefore rings hollow.”

Expressing disappointment over the President’s display of levity in handling the volatile situation across the country which is a direct creation of his ineptitude, Eze said Tinubu has isolated himself from the objectives of the APC; a party founded on the ideals of a united, prosperous Nigeria.

Eze maintained that as a one time spokesperson for nPDP and a member of the APC Media Legacy Project Committee, I must state that what Tinubu is currently superintending is not the vision of APC that most of us risked our lives to bring to be.

According to Eze, “we never brought APC to visit Nigeria and Nigerians with the level of hunger pervading our nation and warranting citizens to resort to suicide as the last resort to escaping the hardship neither did we bring APC to visit Nigeria and Nigerians with the level of insecurity that has enveloped us to such an extent where it becomes suicidal for farmers to go to their farms for whatever purpose.

“We never envisaged that our common effort to bring APC to salvage Nigeria will be so corrupted by the inordinate ambition of Tinubu to foist himself on the country as President and on this footing we owe Nigerians an unreserved apology. Our beloved country has turned to a laughing stock before the international community as most countries now advise their citizens to be wary of traveling to Nigeria.”

Concerned by the hyper level of corruption, Eze queried the justification for spending over 21billion Naira to build a house for the Vice President in the midst of the thriving hardship, as if the VP was homeless, noting that under Tinubu’s nose, corruption is considered a way of life for government officials and they find it right to imprudently indulge in fanfare of squander mania leaving the ordinary people in squalor without a hint of remorse.

He said the corruption in the Oil Sector foreshadows the disinterest of Nigeria to end the regime of importation of basic petroleum products thus signaling the need for a sectoral overhaul which will
include sacking the GMD of NNPC and other officials fingered in corrupt indulgences who have frustrated efforts to resolve the oil sector crisis in the bid to advance their individual and collective private pursuits.

It is worrisome that after gulping hundreds of billions of Naira in reshaping the Port Harcourt Refinery, the facility has not been able to refine a liter of petroleum product despite repeated assurances from President Bola Tinubu since 2023. The president deliberately refused to mention what has happened to the billions or why the refinery has remained shut after so much has been spent to overhaul it.

Considering the gamut of barefaced malpractices that rocked the 2023 election which brought Tinubu to office, Eze reminded the President that Nigerians may not tolerate a recurrence of the 2023 election experience which outcome did not reflect the aspiration of electorates and hinted that the President would have informed Nigerians of his plans to rebuild the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be founded on integrity be truly independent to allow the votes of Nigerians count.

Chief Eze said the President equally failed to demonstrate any commitment towards free and compulsory primary and secondary education and a reduction in the high cost of tertiary education. Such policies in the education sector will help eradicate illiteracy and compel parents of poor status to have no excuse not to enroll their wards to school.

Eze highlighted that he is not in support of any criminality through the protests but expected Mr. President to condemn the unfortunate shooting and killing of some innocent Protesters.

The voices of the Protesters are heard and I wish to appeal to them to end the Protest and let us see how Tinubu will address some of the issues so far highlighted.

Finally, as a way of restoring sanity and giving Nigerians of all classes a sense of belonging, Eze urged the President to consider forming a government of national unity by first, finding a way to reconcile with contenders to the APC Presidential ticket particularly the first and second runners-up as well as the Presidential candidates of other political parties so that with their wealth of experience, policies can be formulated to navigate the country out of the already overwhelming challenge of the time.