By Kazeem Waris
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has said comments by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, acknowledging that the Federal Government did not anticipate the scale of economic turbulence that followed its reforms have vindicated the party’s earlier warnings about the policies.
Bagudu made the remarks on Wednesday at the Federal Appointees Strategic Summit in Abuja, where he acknowledged that the removal of the petrol subsidy and foreign exchange reforms had contributed to cost-of-living pressures, while also arguing that the measures had strengthened the fiscal position of the three tiers of government.
Reacting in a statement, the APM, through its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, said the minister’s remarks confirmed what the party described as its earlier concerns over the government’s economic policies.
The party said the development came as Nigerians continued to contend with rising living costs, business closures, unemployment and poverty, which it attributed to the administration’s reforms.
“Bagudu’s admission at Federal Appointees Strategic Summit in Abuja on Wednesday that the Tinubu administration did not anticipate what it described as the scale of turbulence that hit the global economy is a gross admission of incompetence which also validates our position that the Tinubu Government lacked the coherent economic blueprint, policy foresight and adequate safeguards required to manage a nation,” the party said.
The APM said it had previously warned against the removal of the fuel subsidy, floating of the naira, increased taxes and other policies, arguing that they could worsen economic pressures on citizens and businesses.
“Right from onset, well-meaning Nigerians had cautioned that the abrupt removal of subsidy on petroleum products, floating of the Naira, imposition of harsh taxes and other anti-production policies in an economy such as Nigeria would precipitate untold hardship on the people,” it said.
The party also alleged that multinational companies had exited the country, businesses had closed and millions of Nigerians were struggling to afford basic necessities, including food and medication.
The APM consequently called on President Bola Tinubu to accept responsibility for the economic difficulties, apologise to Nigerians and withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.
“Now that the administration has admitted that it has failed and that it is responsible for the woes of the citizens, it is expected that President Tinubu should take responsibility, apologize to Nigerians and quit the 2027 Presidential race,” Yusuf said.
The party also called for what it described as a “hard reset” of the country, saying Nigeria needed leadership with a clear economic blueprint, policy foresight and safeguards for citizens.
It urged Nigerians to support its presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, whom it said had a roadmap for addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.
The APM cited Makinde’s record in Oyo State as a model it wants replicated nationally and said it would intensify mobilisation ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The party said its mobilisation efforts would focus on what it described as the need to “democratically take back Nigeria from the misrule of the APC.”
