Three prominent opposition figures, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), have come down hard on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the worsening insecurity, hunger, and poverty in the country, vowing to stop his re-election bid in 2027.
They spoke at the weekend during a public lecture themed “Weaponisation of Poverty as a Means of Underdevelopment: A Case Study of Nigeria” to mark Amaechi’s 60th birthday.
Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accused the Tinubu administration of deliberately weaponising poverty as a tool of political control.
“You may call me a conspirator, you may call me anything,” Atiku said. “That is why we are in this alliance, to make sure we don’t allow them to continue weaponizing poverty.”
He said the administration had failed to meet expectations and was using poverty as a political tool.
“What we are experiencing in Nigeria today is state-sanctioned weaponisation of poverty,” he declared.
“When I was growing up in the North, Kano State was the most prosperous. After secondary school, I was posted there. I never saw people sleeping outside, not under bridges, not in front of shops.
“But recently, during a visit to Kano, I saw people sleeping everywhere, under bridges, on the streets, driven out by poverty and insecurity.
“There’s a state agency in Kano that provides support to such people. They began their work, relocating people from under bridges, enlightening them, and helping them. What happened? They were called to a meeting and told to stop,” he added.”
(Daily Trust)
