Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has strongly condemned the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, claiming they have resulted in “unprecedented hunger, poverty and mass unemployment” in Nigeria, making it the world’s poverty capital.
Oborevwori specifically targeted Tinubu’s decision to remove the petroleum subsidy and float the Naira, arguing that “Whatever gains the subsidy removal would have brought have been swallowed by Naira devaluation and galloping inflation.”
The Governor’s statement came in response to comments made by Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, the former Deputy President of the Senate, who had praised the Tinubu administration’s economic policies for increasing federal allocations, boosting economic growth, and benefiting farmers.
In his own rebuttal, Oborevwori questioned the effectiveness of these supposed benefits, pointing out that despite receiving over N900 billion in federal allocations, there has been no noticeable improvement in infrastructure or development in Delta State.
“Can we talk of increased money in any state in Nigeria? What is the worth of such money in the face of galloping inflation, gross devaluation of the Naira, unparalleled hunger, mass poverty, mass unemployment, daily closure of major factories and multinationals?” he asked.
The Governor also referenced international bodies like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, both of which have criticized the economic policies for exacerbating Nigeria’s poverty crisis.
“Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have rightly stated that Tinubu’s economic policies are not working.
The policies have transformed Nigeria into the poverty capital of the world, with over 130 million of the population living below the poverty mark,” Oborevwori stated.
The Delta Governor further questioned the endorsement of these policies by Omo-Agege, calling them a “model” that would only worsen the economic situation in Delta State.
He said, “This is not a path desirable for Deltans and one they would want to embrace at this time.”
