Economy
Amaechi, Atiku, El-Rufai Desperate, Disoriented By Tinubu’s Reforms: APC
Amaechi, Atiku, El-Rufai Desperate, Disoriented By Tinubu’s Reforms: APC
Amaechi, Atiku, el-Rufai desperate, disoriented by Tinubu’s reforms: APC. The All Progressives Congress (APC) says former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, ex-minister Rotimi Amaechi and Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, are united by a desperate desire to return to power for personal gain.
The party said the three politicians, who made critical remarks about President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies during Amaechi’s 60th birthday lecture in Abuja on May 31, are simply “frustrated rent-seekers clinging to a fading political relevance”.
While commenting on the state of the economy, Amaechi, who was the speaker of the Rivers house of assembly between 1999 and 2007 and also the two-term governor of the state from 2007 to 2015, said he is hungry.
“We’re all hungry; all of us are. If you’re not hungry, I am. For us, the opposition, if you want us to remove the man in power, we can remove him from this power,” Amaechi had said at the event.
However, in a statement issued on Monday, Felix Morka, national publicity secretary of the APC, carpeted the politicians for blaming Tinubu for a problem they also failed to eradicate in almost 25 years their party was in control.
“The APC strongly rejects the baseless allegation that the APC government of President Bola Tinubu was ‘weaponising’ poverty by not eradicating the scourge in two years – a feat they themselves failed to achieve during a quarter of a century in power,” the statement reads.
Morka said the birthday lecture was turned into a “frenzied” gathering of “displaced rent-seekers who misused their time in office and are now disoriented by Tinubu’s reforms”.
“These three individuals have occupied Nigeria’s highest political offices between 1999 and 2023,” he said.
“In all 24 years, the trio, individually or collectively, could not and did not eradicate poverty in their states or the country.
“They did not even attempt to address, let alone tackle, the structural challenges and distortions that stifled the economy and worsened poverty over the years.”
Morka accused them of “mindless rent-seeking, selling national assets to cronies, wasteful spending, and sponsoring state violence”.
Reacting to comments by the former minister of transportation, the APC spokesperson said, “That’s about a quarter of a century of freeloading by Amaechi on state resources, with absolutely no record of attempting to combat poverty in his Rivers state or the country.”
“When Amaechi declared, ‘I am hungry,’ he must mean, and must be understood to mean, that he is hungry and desperate to return to his felt entitled dependency on state resources and patronage.”
Morka added that the former minister’s complaint about “hunger” barely two years out of office “underscores the depth of the self-serving motivations” behind his criticism.
The APC spokesperson said Nigerians can see through what he described as “disruptive politicking” from opposition figures, who are “losing their grip on the economy”.
He noted that Tinubu’s economic reforms have forced a departure from the rent-seeking model, replacing it with one that rewards “hard work, productivity, and innovation”.
Morka also blamed past administrations — especially the 16 years under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — for failing to allow the naira to find its real value.
“The erstwhile, artificially overvalued naira stifled local production, encouraged import dependency, and exacerbated poverty,” he said.
El-Rufai Desperate
“Atiku and Peter Obi, who are now vociferously criticising President Tinubu’s policies, amassed their wealth from the very import-dependent system they are desperately trying to preserve.”
He said Atiku, a former customs officer, and Obi, a successful importer, “reaped enormous benefits from the old system”.
“Their criticisms reek of special interest masqueraded as concern for the people,” he added.
According to Morka, by letting market forces determine the naira’s value, Tinubu is incentivising investment and economic growth.
“In two years, President Tinubu has demonstrated political will to tackle structural barriers to the country’s economic growth and development far more than any other president in Nigeria’s modern history,” he said.
Morka described the president’s critics as “beneficiaries of a corrupt and inefficient economic system” who are unsettled by reforms dismantling “their reckless plunder and exploitation of the economy”.
He said the removal of the fuel subsidy “ended massive corruption”, eliminated fuel queues, and attracted investments to the oil and gas sector.
According to him, the harmonisation of exchange rates has boosted competitiveness and revenue, enabling governments to invest more in infrastructure, health, education and social welfare. He noted that states now pay N70,000 minimum wage, up from N30,000, attributing it to Tinubu’s reforms.
“The president’s reforms are dawning a new day for Nigeria, now witnessing economic transformation never before seen in our country’s history,” Morka said.
“Our trade balances are seeing a drastic improvement, with a sharp decline in imports and a steep rise in exports.”
He said Nigeria recorded 4.6 percent GDP growth in the last quarter of 2024, the highest in a decade, despite the global oil price downturn.
He added that the reforms are laying a foundation for food security, industrialisation and sustainable growth.
He said the administration is focused on long-term prosperity, even if it comes with short-term cost-of-living challenges.
“Mr President is on course and will not be distracted by the selfish partisan rambling of some hardened political opportunists and economic exploiters,” he said.
“The best strategic interest of our economy and the good people of Nigeria must continue to trump any and all political or electoral calculations.”
Strike: Normalcy Returns At FCT Secretariat As Workers Resume
Strike: Normalcy returns at FCT secretariat as workers resume. The FCTA secretariat is bustling with activities as normalcy returns after the suspension of the planned solidarity protest by labour unions on Tuesday.
The secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration is bustling with activities as normalcy returns after the suspension of the planned solidarity protest by labour unions on Tuesday.
The protest was suspended after a truce was reached between FCT minister Nyesom Wike and the labour unions in the early hours of Tuesday.
The workers, who resumed work on Monday, were seen carrying out their activities and providing various services.
A visit to some offices in the Minister’s Block, the Treasury Department, the Federal Capital Development Authority, the Abuja Geographical System, and others on Wednesday showed that workers were at work, carrying out their duties.
The FCTA workers under the Joint Union Action Committee had on January 19 embarked on industrial action over unresolved welfare concerns.
The strike, however, was halted by a ruling of the National Industrial Court on January 27, which ordered the workers to resume work, a decision that didn’t sit well with the union leaders, who insisted that the strike must continue.
A truce was reached after several hours of meeting, from late night Monday to the early hours of Tuesday, between the union leaders, officials of the FCTA, Mr Wike, and the chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, Mohammed Bomoi.
Reacting to the truce, the minister told journalists after inspecting some ongoing projects in Abuja on Tuesday that there were no winners or losers.
He expressed delight that the union leaders have seen the realities on the ground, which have helped to clear misconceptions.
“I’m happy that the trade union and labour congress came to see things for themselves. Sometimes it’s good. What they were told is not really what’s on the ground.
Wike
“But by and large, we have had a good meeting, and they’ve directed the workers to go back to work, which you can see has been done. So, we’re happy that at the end of the day, there is no winner, no loser. It’s in the interest of Abuja to progress,” he said.
The organised labour had on Tuesday resolved the dispute between JUAC and Mr Wike, leading to the immediate resumption of work by affected employees.
A circular, jointly signed by the secretary-general of the TUC, Nuhu Toro, and the acting general secretary of the NLC, Benson Upah, stated that the minister assured labour of mutual respect and sustained engagement on labour-related matters in the FCT.
It said the parties also agreed that no worker would be victimised for participating in the strike action and that all outstanding cases at the National Industrial Court would be withdrawn immediately.
Following the agreement, the NLC and TUC directed all affected workers to resume duty without delay.
Lagos Assembly Strongly Seeks Suspension Of Makoko Demolition
Lagos assembly strongly seeks suspension of Makoko demolition. The Lagos state house of assembly has called for the suspension of demolition activities in Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Shogunro waterfront communities following protests by displaced residents and growing public concern over the exercise.
The call was announced on Tuesday by Noheem Adams, chairman of an ad hoc committee set up by Mudashiru Obasa, speaker of the house, during a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Lateef Jakande auditorium.
Adams called on all state ministries to cease demolition work and promised compensation to the affected residents.
“On behalf of the speaker and all 40 members of the house, we are directing that all demolitions in Makoko, Oko-Agbon, and Shogunro communities should stop from today until further notice,” New Telegraph quoted Adams as saying.
He called for transparency by demanding the full list of taskforce members and the criteria used for engagement, insisting that residents must be actively involved in the process.
“That the taskforce that was constituted, we want to see the list of the taskforce because we want the residents to be duly involved and to be carried along. So we want to have the schedule of those task forces and the criteria for those that we are inviting,” Adams added.
Lagos Assembly
“To the residents of Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Shogunro communities, as your representatives, we are giving you all assurances that they will stop demolitions henceforth and there will be compensations for all those whose properties have been demolished.”
Stephen Ogundipe, member of the ad-hoc, said there is need for clear communication, adding that residents targeted for relocation or redevelopment must be informed of the government’s plans in advance.
Babatunde Olajide, special adviser to governor of Lagos on E-GIS and urban renewal, confirmed that $2 million had been earmarked since 2021 to transform Makoko into a modern, internationally compliant water city.
He said enumeration of affected properties is underway and reiterated the administration’s commitment to handling the situation with a human face, prioritizing resident safety and fair compensation.
Yusuf Sagra, baale of Makoko, described the assembly’s decision as a “word of peace,” while Orioye Ogungbure, another leader of the community, praised the “democratic responsiveness” of the government.
EFCC Arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Viral Video
EFCC arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for alleged naira mutilation in viral video. The Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 arrested a Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa over alleged Naira mutilation.
Inuwa was arrested following a viral video circulated on social media platforms where she was seen conspicuously cleaning mucus from her nose using Naira notes.
EFCC
Following the release of the viral video, the Commission swung into action by tracing and subsequently arrested her to answer questions.
She is currently being held at the Commission’s detention facility while investigation is ongoing.
The suspect will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity
February 3, 2026
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