Mobolaji Michael
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima have spent a whooping Eight Billion, Sixty-Four Million Naira (N8.064,000,000.00) in travel expenses within three months.
Making this disclosure via a statement was a Developmental Economist cum Political Party and Policy Management Strategist, Chief Peter Ameh. According to him, the All Progressives Congress (APC)- led government and “its careless, extravagant spending of public resources without purpose needs to be cautioned.”
The Convener of the Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Electoral Reforms (CODER) insists that Nigeria and Nigerians will continue to pay the price of the high cost of governance until the government gets its priorities straight and right.
“The president has refused to match his call for austerity with his continued waste of public funds. The work of the president is not to be globetrotting or make France his second home but to stay in Nigeria and make it work for the benefit of our people because as of June 2024, Tinubu and his vice president Shettima have spent N8.64bn on travel expenses within three months.
“The President will be travelling to France in the “state of the art” jet tomorrow (today). Nigerians bear the harsh realities of the lavish lifestyle of I don’t care attitude and incompetent leadership.
“The A330 with new registration number 5N-NGA was purchased for $100m and retrofitted with all sorts of gadgets with another $50m.
“President Tinubu spent N5 billion on a yacht and budgets N7 billion for the renovation of President and Vice President official residences In Lagos while citizens are suffering.”
The National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) emphasized that Nigeria as a nation is facing crises worse than at any time in its history, and as such, everything is in disarray. “Our President says we should exercise patience even when we are hungry, we should be patient even when our children are out of school, yet President Tinubu chooses this very time to purchase a brand new Cadillac Escalade as a presidential car, a car worth overlooking almost 500 million naira. How insensitive and selfish can a leader be? Note that past presidents used Mercedes Maybach S Class, but no, it ain’t good enough for President Bola Tinubu.
“He wants workers to be patient and manage N70,000.00; he wants lecturers (Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU) to be patient while ASUU begs federal government to save public varsities from total collapse; he wants ordinary citizens to tighten their belts and be patient while his government continues with wasteful spending of public resources; our health care system is in shambles and nothing to write home about.; federal roads are in a state of total decay and disrepair; fuel prices keep rising, N800 per litre as at yesterday (Saturday), making transport fare almost impossible to afford.
“Those in government and their penchant for luxury at the expense of the collective wellbeing of the poor is alarming and dangerous”, Chief Ameh stressed.
Eighteen-Eleven Media