ABUJA – The Presidency has dismissed claims by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that Nigeria is sinking into a crisis comparable to pre-revolutionary France and Russia, describing his remarks as “cheap talk” and a distortion of current realities.
In a statement issued on Monday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Atiku and his handlers were “out of touch” with the positive developments under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“Talk is cheap. Atiku’s assertion that hunger is ravaging the country and his comparison of Nigeria to the days before the 1789 French Revolution or the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia is grossly misleading,” the Presidency said.
Citing fresh data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Onanuga noted that headline inflation declined for the fifth consecutive month in August, while non-oil exports have surged to nearly equal crude oil earnings in a 48:52 ratio. He also pointed out that the nation’s foreign reserves are climbing toward $42 billion, compared to $32 billion when President Tinubu took office.
“This administration has cleared over $7 billion in arrears, including $800 million owed to airlines,” Onanuga said, stressing that states now enjoy unprecedented revenues, enabling them to pay salaries and gratuities on time while still funding capital and social projects.
The Presidency accused Atiku and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of remaining “stuck in the past” and of being responsible for many of the structural economic challenges Nigeria currently faces.
“President Tinubu and his team are working relentlessly to correct those errors through bold reforms. After just two years and five months in office, we are proud of the progress being made,” the statement read.
While Atiku has repeatedly criticized the administration for worsening economic hardship, the Presidency insisted that Nigerians “can see and feel the positive changes taking place across the nation.”
