Adebayo Shittu
A former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has taken a swipe at those calling for President Bola Tinubu’s resignation from office over the worsening economic crisis.
He referred to them as frustrated political personalities thinking irrationally.
He argued that it is too early to pass a verdict on Tinubu’s government, which started only a little over a year ago.
Shittu described as misguided the call from certain quarters that Tinubu should step down from office for alleged poor performance.
He shared his reservation during an interview with Punch.
Recall that some Northern politicians have expressed their discontent with Tinubu’s government.
In April, a spokesman for the Northern Elders Forum, Abdulaziz Suleiman, said the forum regretted supporting Tinubu, adding that with the increased security challenges in the region, the North had learned its lessons.
Also, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, also lent his voice to the agitation, vowing to jettison his presidential ambition if former President Goodluck Jonathan agrees to contest in 2027.
Reacting, Shittu said, “All these talks about the North agitating for power after one year are irrelevant. It is also uncharitable and unwholesome for anybody to see Tinubu as a Southern President. Who is Bala Mohammed? He seems to be acting on his own and he is free to say whatever he wants. It is not a problem for me at all.
“What I see are many frustrated political personalities. Owing to their frustration, they are thinking undemocratically and irrationally. If you run a democracy where elections are held every four years, you can’t start passing judgment on the leadership after a year or two and asking for a change of government. Such a call is treasonable.
“Again, did the problems in Nigeria come up this year or last year? It has been there in the last 30 years when successive governments were in power, including the 16 years of PDP maladministration. Since Tinubu came into office, nobody has accused him of corruption. We all know the previous government has been postponing Nigeria’s evil days. I am confident we will have relief to our problems solved within the next one year.”