Olabode George, a former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party on has urged President Bola Tinubu to revisit some of his policies to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians.
Mr George, who gave the advice while addressing a new conference on state of the nation in Lagos, called on the president to unravel issues around oil and gas and the power sector to get the country out of the woods.
“Having been trained by this nation and worked for this country, if I see things not going the right direction and keep quiet, I will be failing. So, it is not a matter of fighting. Our country Nigeria is in a political and economic intensive care unit. So, we need proper surgeons, political surgeons and economic surgeons. We are talking about people who have gone through this before, who should be able to come to give us that freshness of breath to get out,” said the politician. “We must put smiles on faces of Nigerians no matter where they reside. Well, some of us can manage, but what about the myriads of so many young Nigerians who cannot even have any meal.”
Speaking on the oil and gas sector and issues around fuel subsidy, the elder statesman urged the President to speak the truth to Nigerians.
“In the oil sector, we hear about fuel subsidy today, next day we hear there is no fuel subsidy. So, what exactly is the truth? We want to know. My perception of the handling of the oil sector of our country is very disappointing,” he said.
The PDP leader decried the high cost of power, saying it has killed many small businesses.
Mr George, who expressed surprise that not one of 18 gas turbines bought by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo had been fired, said regular and cost-effective power supply remained the backbone of the economy.
“Even this office, we spend nothing less than N3 million a month now for only electricity and I wonder how small businesses can survive in this kind of situation,” he said.
On the #EndBadGovernance protests, Mr George said, “It is normal especially in a democratic governance. The government is supposed to listen to those who voted for them. The Gen Zs are restless, and what is happening in the north is a reflection of the restlessness of the youth. They have been to university and graduated. Where is hope, where is job and where is food? They are bound to react.”
The PDP leader, noting that the solution was not in the importation of food, said there should be short, medium and long term policies to empower farmers.
Mr George urged the president to assemble former and current managing directors of banks in a closed-door meeting for the way forward.
Mr George, who advocated restructuring, power devolution, resource control and electoral reforms, urged the Mr Tinubu and the National Assembly to revisit 2014 National Conference.
“I am hoping that Asiwaju (the president) will be bold enough to reform nation’s constitution. This is going to be a decisive measure of his commitment to this country,” he said.
Mr George decried the alleged high-handedness of Lagos task force in impounding and auctioning vehicles of traffic offenders, describing it as wickedness.
NAN