…. says it’s a failure and colossal disappointment.
By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP,) Prince Adewole Adebayo has lashed out at the Administration of President Bola Tinubu in the areas of the nation’s security and socioeconomic development describing the regime as a failure and a colossal disappointment.
Adewole who accessed the two-year performance of the President while fielding questions from newsmen while hosting Iftar (breaking of fast) with some selected loyalists in Ilorin, Kwara state, lamented many crisis ravaging the country coupled with the perceived intimidation and lawlessness in the National Assembly and Rivers State.
According to him, many Nigerians were disappointed in President Tinubu whom they initially saw as a renewed hope after late Chief MKO Abiola.
He stressed that “Tinubu is the current champion of disgrace. Among the long lines that have been coming with it. Because it is a disgrace that you are not able to feed the poor in a land of plenty when you fix roads.
“All of us who are here now, we came from Ondo, and our ears are banging as we are here now as if we went to an amusement park. So I think that we should have a serious government.
“Our constitution is designed with serious language in it. They are expecting that the person who is the president, Head of State, or Commander in chief will be someone who knows that this is the airport of black people in the world. And we should not be a basket case.
“Poverty, insecurity, underdevelopment, unemployment, those are the things that we are having conversations about. There are those who want to get to power anyhow and they will combine even with the devil”,he stated.
“We are clamouring to serve the people. They are clamouring for themselves, Nigerians have reached a point that there is no where to go. In the next five years, population will grow by at least 10%. There’s no work, there’s no food, there’s no education, there’s no housing, there’s no space in the public service. “
Continuing,he said,”President Muhammad Bihari came on National Television and said, “in my government, there is no space for anybody. Go and farm.” But he didn’t give lands, he didn’t give security, he didn’t give fertilizer. So, these people are not even talking to you, Tinubu is more of a president of France, maybe deputy president of France, than a president of Nigeria.
“So we need to be serious, it is not about giving position, it’s about serving the people. The true position that is relevant in Nigeria is the position of citizen of the Federal republic of Nigeria. Let them say, “why are you smiling?” You’ll say because I’m a Nigerian. Why are you well fed? Because I’m a Nigerian. Why did you get this job? Because I’m a Nigerian. Why do you feel safe to speak? Because I’m a Nigerian. When last did you count all the asset God gave to you and you remembered you are a Nigerian? That must happen in our lifetime.”he said
Answering another question on the state of emergency in Rivers State, the SDP presidential flagbearer said it was pathetic and unfortunate that the president could delete democratic structure in the state without recourse to the overall condition of the masses in the state.
According to him: “the president removed elected officials, both in the legislative and executive arm. That is clearly unconstitutional and the political leaders in the country, particularly Rivers State should remember that power that defines the constitution comes from the people and for the benefit of the people, they should resolve that issue immediately.
“Well, the state of emergency is that the SDP has spoken about it. We feel like the president has declared an emergency but the reason has not been given to us. We have also removed elected officials, both in the legislative and executive arm. That is clearly unconstitutional and the political leaders in the country, particularly Rivers state should remember that power that defines the constitution comes from the people and for the benefit of the people and that they should resolve the issue.The fact that an emergency had been declared for six months doesn’t mean that it can’t be resolved in six hours or six days.”
Adewole particularly urged the power that be in the country to have a rethink about the ongoing emergency rule in River state.
Speaking on the role played by the National Assembly on the Rivers State crisis, the SDP candidate said,” It is an unserious matter. The National Assembly is not set up for us to cooperate. The crisis in the National Assembly is how they approved a 55 trillion Naira budget without anything for the people. How they approved almost 40 trillion last year and nobody has seen anything.
“And the National Assembly, when the President came to present this new fake budget, the Speaker said last year’s budget performed below 25%. So if you have a student who performed below 25%, will you promote that student to the next class? So we should, especially the media, it is an opportunity to talk to you.
” It is not every sensation that is reported, focus more on what is happening, why Nigerian people are left behind. Even in River State, I will speak about it. If you ask the media how much was River State’s budget last year, how much went to the poor? How many children have been educated in River State, they will not tell you. They tell you Wike, Fubara, Wike, Fubara. So the media needs to be a little more serious.”
He further noted that,”the National Assembly was not set up for romantic stories. It was set up for people to do the work of Nigerian people and do more to return to that. The seriousness that is happening in Nigeria today, if you look at the thousands of hungry people, people who are kidnapped and their families are looking for ransom, children are out of school. There are so many problems in this country.The National Assembly should have no drama for boy and girl stories.”
Answering a question on the people who are drifting to the party clamoring to occupy elective positions, Adewole said that,” the aim of SDP is to take over the governance from the elite adding that party is one of the oldest party in Nigeria.
“What we know is that in this country, we are older than all these parties they are talking about. And this is a party of MKO Abiola. This is a party of Falaye. This is a party that has produced many people like Abubakar Rimi. This is a party for Solomon Lar. So all these people you are mentioning, where did they come from? The conspiracy that led to the creation of APC, where did this start? So these people who are the leaders of APC now, they were Farenda Boys in SDP. How can they be telling you what to do?he queried
He added that,”for every known politician, for every former minister, for every ex-governor, and senators, jumping to our party, there are millions of Nigerians joining the party. So it is now for the media to look for Nigerian people.
“So it is part of the system to bring egalitarianism. That’s why Chapter 2 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, and makes the press the fourth estate of the realm. So in fact, when we talk of the neglect of Nigerian people by the government, the neglect of the suffering of Nigerians by the media, or the legal system where I belong.”
Explaining why he hosted Iftar in Ilorin, Kwara state, Adewole said
“Ilorin is a well known center for Islam in Southern Sudan.The southern Sudan worth in the whole Islamic Calendar is called the lower Sudan, so everybody all over the world knows that Ilorin is the center for Islam. It is the city of Islamic knowledge, and I remember that even when I worked in the North Africa and Middle East, some of the most complex interpretations of Arabic and of Islamic traditions, they used to refer to the people of Ilorin here. But in addition to that, we are doing this in many parts of the country.”
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