Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has described as a ruse President Bola Tinubu’s claim to have secured over $30 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI) from various companies, as a result of his globetrotting.
Atiku in a statement by his media adviser Paul Ibe, wondered why none of these companies have not yet come into the country.
“Rather, all manufacturing firms have been posting heavy losses while some are exiting due to his poorly implemented exchange rate unification policy with even Aliko Dangote describing it as a huge mess, at the recent annual general meeting of Dangote Sugar Refinery,” Atiku stated.
He noted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest report, stated that Nigeria would become the 4th largest economy in Africa behind South Africa, Egypt and Algeria, by the end of this year.
This, he said is “a disgraceful development for a nation which was the largest in Africa by a mile when the PDP left the stage in 2015.”
Atiku who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reminded Tinubu that foreign investors had seen how local businesses were being treated in Nigeria, arguing that no investor would come to a place where their investments would not be protected.
He condemned the demolition of tourist and recreational facilities and other properties within the Oniru corridor, including parts of Landmark, for the proposed construction of a coastal highway, without ample notice, and said it is one of the reasons foreign direct investments would continue to elude the country.
“In saner climes, businesses such as Landmark would have been given at least two years’ notice in order for effective planning. But Tinubu’s eagerness to satisfy his business partners impaired his ability to coordinate the project properly.
According to him, rather than improving the ease of doing business, the Tinubu administration is prompting personal business interest and that of his family over and above national interest.
The former vice president cited a report by Paris-based Africa Intelligence News Agency, which revealed that Seyi Tinubu, the president’s son, is a director on the board of CDK Integrated Industries, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, which was awarded the contract for the Lagos Calabar coastal highway.
“… This project that is being done in excess of $13 billion was awarded without a competitive bidding,” he said, adding that the proposed “Badagry-Sokoto highway would be awarded in a similar fashion at an enormous cost to taxpayers purely because Tinubu has put his personal interest ahead of the Nigerian people.”
Atiku maintained that the contract for the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway was rushed, as the environmental impact assessment report was yet to be completed.
“The right of way for the 700 km stretch of the highway project was not secured; it was converted from a PPP to a government-funded project within the twinkle of an eye.
“The N500m that the National Assembly approved for the project was ignored, while Tinubu’s administration released over N1 trillion without approval from the National Assembly,” Atiku stated.
He said Tinubu’s administration lacks coordination and transparency, especially in view of the claim by former Kaduna State governor Nasir el-Rufai, that the All Progressives Congress (APC) government is still secretly paying billions of naira monthly, as fuel subsidy.
The former vice president advised Tinubu and his economic team to do less of propaganda and focus on improving the ease of doing business as this remained the surest path to sustainability.
