No Tinubu’s Impact In South East Yet – APC Chieftain
A former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, Dr Ben Nwoye, Thursday, said President Bola Tinubu’s two years in office has not positively impacted much on the people of South-East Region of Nigeria.
He, however, acknowledged that a majority of Nigerians across all the regions of the country are suffering, and advised the president to consider reviewing some policies of his government, which he said had failed. Dr Nwoye stated this as a guest of Enugu-based Dream FM’s “Political Voices”.
On road infrastructure, Nwoye said the federal government had constructed many road networks across the federation but “none is completed in the South East.”
He cited the ongoing construction of a super highway from Lagos to Calabar “when many dilapidated federal roads are unattended to in the South East”.
He also bemoaned the circumstances leading to candidates of South East and Lagos re-taking the last Unified Matriculation Examinations after the admission of human errors by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, noting that not making the people responsible for the errors account for the lapses was unacceptable.
According to him, “The biggest corruption is the one that occurred in JAMB. How would that happen within a certain segment of the people? The South-East students were victims.
“They said it was a human error. Up to this moment, nobody has been held accountable for what happened to the Igbos when their children were made to take their exams twice. Is it their fault?
“The affected candidates should have been given automatic admissions. The law will not accept tears as accountability. The person in charge shed crocodile tears.”
He also spoke on the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, against copious court orders for his release.
Nwoye said by law and in democracy, once a judge ordered the release of a detainee, the order ought to be carried out.
He asked, “Why is Kanu still in detention at the Department of State Services when many judges have ordered his release?
“In democracy, if a judge orders that Kanu be released from jail, his bail bond would be made, and he will be coming for trials.
“And the guy from the West is walking on the streets freely. Our mother’s justice has no scale,” he added.
He however stated that the South East was not the only zone crying marginalisation under Tinubu. Quoting him, “The North, South-East, North-Central, South-South and even the South-Westerners are crying about Tinubu’s appointments, which favour Lagos and some Yoruba people alone.
“This country is too much for such. There are good brains everywhere. The president should go back and review what he is doing.”
Nwoye attributed the people championing President Tinubu’s successes under the Renewed Hope Agenda to “emotions”, adding that, “They are very few who the system has titled in their favour.
“The majority of Nigerians are suffering. Many Nigerians are dying. There is insecurity everywhere. Security men are fighting it, and doing wonders, but their best is not enough.
“In a situation like this, many countries look for expatriates and technologies for help.
“People still pay ransom to get released from the captivity of their abductors. I don’t think we are doing well there.
“However, the Renewed Hope is that Nigerian people don’t need to give up hope on ourselves. The nation must be united, and encourage our president to do better.
“The way things are going now, if it continues that way, I don’t see this country moving forward.
“Those clapping for him have psychological disorders. Some of the support is powered by emotions: it is our turn. He is a Southern president.
“The propagandists and writers of speeches should tell the truth. It is not that he is enjoying the support of people.
“Nobody will support a government that has made their lives worse off. Tinubu should employ a Special Adviser on Truth: someone that is with the people.”
At the national level, Dr Nwoye called for the reversal of some policies of Tinubu, which he described as failures. In his words, “The policy on naira devaluation has failed. The policy on fuel subsidy has failed.
“The same way that he is re-evaluating his security policy, he should re-evaluate his fiscal, energy and subsidy policies.
“If more money goes to FG and states, and they build roads and so on, but people are suffering, there should be a re-think. People are being taxed to shut down their businesses.
“Hunger is the weapon. This administration promised Nigerians CNG buses to reduce the cost of transportation. Where are they?”
He said governors defecting to APC are because “they are unpopular”.
According to him, “It is the governors that are afraid of 2027 that are defecting. But it will not be business as usual.”
No Tinubu’s Impact In South East Yet – APC Chieftain is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
