REFLECTION ON TINUBU’S 100 DAYS IN OFFICE

When the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal ruled in favour of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was declared winner on 25th February 2023 by the Independent National Electorate Commission, it was for the president a break from legal distraction. He can now focus his attention on the implementation of his much-talked “RENEWED HOPE AGENDA” aimed at fixing the country’s multidimensional problems. But let us peep into the president’s 100 days in office to see whether he is on the right track. To political observers,100 days of the Tinubu’s led administration has brought untold suffering to millions of Nigerians due to his sudden policy pronouncements. However, to be fair to the administration, it came at a time when the country’s economy has nosedived. It has inherited a broken economy from its predecessor. It is estimated that the immediate past administration had incurred foreign and domestic debts to the tune of trillions of naira. The perilous state of the economy forced the new government to explore ways to rescue the battered economy from further sliding.

      In his inauguration speech on May 29, President Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy which he said had robbed the country trillions of naira. His new policy direction sparked panic in the petroleum industry. Oil marketers quickly adjusted the price of pump price. The unfortunate development led to the surge in price of goods and services beyond the reach of many households. Since the unceremonious removal of petroleum subsidy, civil servants and majority of Nigerians have been grappling with high cost of living. So, subsidy removal has pushed many Nigerians into poverty. What many economic experts expected President Tinubu to have done was to roll out effective policies that will cushion the likely effects of the subsidy removal before making the announcement.

   Tinubu’s administration witnessed the inauguration of 43 cabinet members, the largest since the return of democracy in the country. But more are still in the pipeline.  The development has received barrage of knocks from Nigerians. This cannot be unconnected with huge resources required to maintain the new ministers amidst cash crush. Nigerians have expected President Tinubu to shop for technocrats and form a lean cabinet. From 1999 to 2007 when he held sway as the governor of Lagos, Tinubu assembled technocrats who assisted him to transform the state. His exceptional performances in Lagos is what gives an impression that he will replicate the feat as Nigerian president. But some of Tinubu’s ministers have fallen short of quality and character in the eyes of many Nigerians. He rewarded some ex-governors whose tenure in their respective states left so much questions to answer.   

 Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State