Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu of exhibiting despotic mannerisms and high-handedness, saying the National Assembly is, sadly, an enabler of the tendencies.
Atiku’s comments followed Wednesday’s removal of Senator Ali Ndume as Chief Whip of the senate after an interview in which he accused Tinubu of being unaware of the suffering of the citiens.
Similarly, in an open letter to the president, renowned journalist and publisher of Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu, advised Tinubu to be wary of hero-worshipers.
In a statement, Atiku said in the evolution of systems of government, a major concern for thinkers was a governmental framework that would reduce the high-handedness of the executive arm of government.
According to him, “It was thought, and rightly so too, that a participatory approach to governance, such that will make the government derive its legitimacy from the people will better serve the interest of the masses.
“And, thus, to make sure that the executive does not go overboard in the application of its powers, the legislative arm of government was conceived as a means of protecting the people from the authoritarian tendencies of wielders of state powers.
“Regrettably, however, the democracy in Nigeria in the current administration of President Bola Tinubu, has become an anathema to that general principle of democracy as providing primary protection for the people against executive excesses.
“This ugly tendency is being manifested by the steady posturing of our National Assembly, especially the Senate, of taking a reverse course in its core function and becoming a puppet in the hands of the President.
“It is uncharitable that whenever members of the Senate stand on the floor of the red chamber to perform their statutory duty of calling the executive to order, they are immediately reprimanded for doing so.
“When Senator Abdul Ningi called attention of the country to the incident of budget padding in the 2024 Appropriation Bill, rather than calling for a thorough investigation into the observation, the reaction of the Senate was to hand him a suspension.
“Today, the people of Nigeria are victims of an ambiguous budget framework upon which appropriations for the current fiscal year are hinged in the face of multiplicity of appropriations.
“Only yesterday, Senator Ali Ndume called for the President to wake up to his responsibilities and provide succour to address the biting hunger and poverty in the country.
“Ironically, the response of the @NGRSenate to his patriotic warning is to relieve him of his principal office as the Chief Whip of the Senate.”
The former vice president said despite persistent appeals to the government to put its priorities on cancelling the excruciating hardship in the land and suspend the idea of spending scarce resources on the purchase of new aircraft for the presidential fleet, the senate took a stand against the people.
Atiku said the lawmakers ignored the voice of altruism by decorating the president with controversial purchases of an aircraft and a yacht amid the worst material conditions of the average citizen in the history of the country.
He stated, “We are, therefore, beginning to see a pattern in which the National Assembly has become an enabler of executive recklessness, and the concerns of the people stand in the nadir of priority list of the legislature.
‘”This emerging reality must stop. The health of our democracy is being compromised by this unholy alliance between the executive and the legislature and portends a dictatorship that will worsen the lot of the people.”
Momodu, in his letter, expressed concerns about the state of the nation and urged the president to beware of hero-worshippers. He asked Tinubu to sanction the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for publicly disrespecting Tinubu in the Rivers State crisis.
In a post shared on his Instagram page, Momodu, who has a long-standing relationship with the president, emphasised the need for truth and fiscal responsibility in governance.
He wrote, “Your Excellency, I have decided to write this open letter to you as a concerned friend and brother. As you’re aware, I’m a member of opposition, but you and I have had a long history together.
“I owe you only one thing, truth. It is very obvious that the first thing that takes flight in the Presidential Villa is truth. The reason is simple. Some Nigerians are experts in hijacking men and women of power. The deification process is often swift and irreversible.
“I’m writing to you today, not because I expect you to act on my suggestions, but to put it on record that someone gave you the true picture of things. I’m also hoping that some of your friends will read and interpret to you, in a sober moment.
“Nigeria is in big trouble. Our economy has virtually collapsed. And what’s the way out? You’ve been wasting too much money at a time that requires absolute frugality.
“Please, stop this reckless propensity for wasting scarce resources. Purchasing presidential jets, building outlandish monuments, distributing cash as palliatives, etc., are signs of a failed and careless government.
“If you can curb the excessive spending of your government, you will free up a lot of resources for serious development. I believe you’re frittering away our resources because you desperately crave a second term.
“But the best assurance of a second term is performance. Nigerians are not expecting you to turn water into wine but they don’t want you to turn their wines into water.
“In the name of God, beware of those hero-worshippers at the National Assembly, who have turned you into God. Ndume is your best friend. Listen to him. There’s danger ahead.
“You must enforce discipline as a leader. Your new disciple, Nyesom Wike, has publicly disrespected you in the Fubara matter. You need to sanction him before he throws Nigeria into total chaos.”
Chuks Okocha and Sunday Ehigiator
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