Blame Buhari's Govt for Current Hardship, Northern Groups Tell Nigerians
Say protests against food scarcity unwarranted
Prominent Nigerians from the 19 states in the North under the aegis of Arewa Initiative for Defence and Promotion of Democracy, yesterday, asked Nigerians to blame the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari for the hunger and hardship currently being experienced in the country.
The coalition of pro-democracy organisations at a news conference in Abuja, therefore, urged Nigerians to ignore sponsored protests staged against the federal government in Kano, Minna and other parts of the country recently.
Chairman of the Arewa Initiative,
Professor Shehu Abdullahi Ma'aji, specifically told journalists at the event that the harsh economic situation being faced by everybody now, was the fallout of the comatose economy handed over to Tinubu by his predecessor.
Ma'aji said pockets of protests staged in some states were uncalled for, as President Bola Tinubu-led federal government was already addressing the problems.
Flanked by members of the group from across the 19 northern states, Ma'aji said an eight months old government was too early to be assessed, let alone criticised by people with ulterior motives.
He said the group, after an extra ordinary meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, resolved that, "The North is solidly behind President Tinubu and will continue to support and cooperate with him, for the actualisation of his Renewed Hope Agenda.
"That 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 AbdulRazagq 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.
"That those disgruntled politicians and other unpatriotic elements who have perfected plans to mobilise bogus civil society organisations (CSOs) to stage phantom protests across the country to smear the image of this administration should stop their evil machinations.”