President Bola Tinubu will not be resigning, regardless of Nigeria’s current economic crisis, according to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
Idris responded to the call by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors for President Tinubu to step down if he cannot provide solutions to the country’s economic hardship.
He stated that the call for Tinubu to resign was simply an attempt at distraction by individuals who should instead be backing the President’s efforts to bring economic relief to the Nigerian people.
“It is our viewpoint that the PDP and its governors should not resort to intimidation to achieve what they have failed to accomplish democratically since 2015.
“Those who could not bring about transformational change when they had ample opportunity should not seek to interrupt or distract those who are diligently working on the presidential vision that Nigerians elected them to implement.
“The administration of President Bola Tinubu has also been providing financial support to all state governments, regardless of their party affiliation since its inception.
“In addition, the removal of the petrol subsidy, a main component of the PDP presidential campaign, has increased revenues for all states, including the PDP states. Therefore, more is expected from those who have received more.
“The President and his administration acknowledge the ongoing efforts to revamp the national economy initiated by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, through programs focused on large-scale infrastructure, social welfare, prioritizing the equipping and welfare of the military and security agencies, and re-establishing Nigeria’s strategic position in the international community.
“Boko Haram and its affiliates, previously on the rise in 2014/2015, have been decimated, and similar progress is being made with bandits and other criminals.
“Nigerians have not forgotten that it was the APC administration that settled several liabilities left by the PDP government, including subsidy claims by oil marketers, Paris Club Refunds, unpaid pensions, gratuities, and salary arrears owed to different categories of pensioners from liquidated and existing state-owned enterprises.
“Major oil sector reforms that the PDP promised but failed to implement – such as the passage of the PIB, new refineries, as well as the revamp of existing ones – are the actual and ongoing legacies of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“All of these achievements were made without access to the oil windfall that the PDP government enjoyed for a significant portion of its time in power, and amidst the most devastating global shock since the Second World War: the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We must continue to highlight these facts so that Nigerians can understand our starting point and appreciate what is being achieved in its complete context.
“President Tinubu is not and will never be overwhelmed by the current challenges confronting the country. He will not abandon his responsibilities. He will courageously confront and overcome these challenges, laying a solid foundation for the emerging new Nigeria.
“He has also never shied away from acknowledging the pain of ongoing reforms, and has used every opportunity to reassure Nigerians that within the pain of the reforms lie the seeds of lasting prosperity and national development.
“To the PDP governors, we emphasize again: This is not the time for distraction. Instead, it is time to roll up sleeves, to support and complement the hard work of the President and his administration,” the minister emphasized.