The Arewa Professionals for Democracy and Development (APDD) says the former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar’s criticism of the federal government’s recent loan request “can undermine public trust in Nigeria”.
On Thursday, the senate and the house of representatives approved a $2.2 billion loan request from President Bola Tinubu.
Reacting to the approval, Atiku said Nigerians are being crushed by a blend of the administration’s “failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets”.
He criticised the loans as “bone-crushing to Nigerians and bringing insufferable pressure on the economy, especially when they are not properly negotiated and utilised”.
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Responding to Abubakar, Moses Odaudu, president of APDD, said the former vice-president’s criticism “trivialised the strategic intent behind the loans.”
Odaudu added that the former vice-president focused on “infantile tantrums,” despite Tinubu assuring that “his government will ensure transparency and accountability in using these funds”.
“He blatantly trivialised the strategic intent behind the loans by asserting that they are ‘bone crushing’ and bring ‘insufferable pressure’ on the economy, whereas when properly managed and invested in critical infrastructure and development projects, the loans can stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and improve public services,” Odaudu said.
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“This is even as President Tinubu has assured that his government will ensure transparency and accountability in using these funds, which should have been Atiku’s focus instead of the infantile tantrums he threw in the public opinion space.
“This is why we ask the former vice president to differentiate between constructive criticism aimed at improving governance and baseless accusations that can undermine public trust in Nigeria.
“Atiku must thus admit to himself that it is time to quit politics and refrain from intervening in national issues so that he does not allow his diminished capacity to lead some Nigerians astray.”
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