"Atiku's aide criticizes Tinubu's nationwide broadcast, deeming it a futile and misleading effort."

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Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant on Public Communications to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, expressed his dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubu's recent national broadcast, describing it as lacking inspiration and misleading.

According to Shaibu, Tinubu's speech seemed like a last-minute effort to dissuade the suffering masses and organized labor from staging nationwide protests. He criticized Tinubu for removing petrol subsidy without a well-thought-out plan to alleviate the hardships faced by the people since the All Progressives Congress (APC) assumed power in 2015.

Shaibu pointed out that Tinubu's failure to apologize for removing the subsidy without providing relief for the poor was concerning. Instead, Tinubu blamed subsidy thieves for the current suffering, leading Shaibu to question why those responsible had not been arrested if Tinubu was certain of their identity.

Shaibu also accused Tinubu of being dishonest about his stance on subsidy removal, citing his past opposition to the idea, referring to it as the "Goodluck Jonathan tax" and sponsoring protests against it in 2012. Shaibu argued that Tinubu's lack of imagination and proper planning resulted in the removal of the subsidy without a clear strategy in place.

Regarding Tinubu's proposed plans to provide N50,000 grants to small businesses, Shaibu expressed skepticism, stating that inflation, exchange rate issues, and corruption could undermine the initiative. He likened this proposal to past failed programs such as the "trader moni" scheme and the ineffective monthly N20,000 public works program under the previous APC government.

Shaibu raised concerns about the lack of a reliable mechanism to ensure that the grants would reach the intended beneficiaries, accusing Tinubu of deceptive promises that would likely be exposed in the coming weeks.

Additionally, Shaibu questioned Tinubu's plan to allocate 500,000 hectares of land to farmers to boost agriculture. He pointed out that the Land Use Act vested land control in the hands of governors, making Tinubu's proposal appear misleading and reminiscent of unfulfilled promises made by the current administration.

Furthermore, Shaibu highlighted the ongoing insecurity in agrarian communities, exemplified by recent attacks in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State. He argued that any meaningful agricultural plan would require addressing the security challenges first.

Lastly, Shaibu criticized Tinubu's claim that the minimum wage would soon be increased, asserting that this showed Tinubu's lack of proper planning for the subsidy removal. He suggested that discussions on raising the minimum wage should have occurred before the subsidy was removed, characterizing Tinubu's approach as clueless and putting priorities in the wrong order.

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