‘Tinubu Is Reaping From Sweat Of My Effort’ – Atiku’s Aide Speaks On Alleged Lopsided Appointment

Former Special Adviser on Research and Strategy to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Umar Ardo, says he is unbothered about the alleged lopsided appointment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Naija News reports that Ardo, in an interview with PUNCH, said delivery should be considered irrespective of the regions of the appointees, stressing that the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari appointed northerners in most sectors, but they failed to deliver.

Speaking on the country’s economic situation, Ardo averred that the removal of fuel subsidy is appeasement to international monetary organisations, insisting it is not helping the country.

When asked if he had pitched his tent with Tinubu, Atiku’s former aide said he does not have a close relationship with the President even though he is currently reaping from the sweat of his effort in contriving the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said, “I have no business with him aside that he’s my country’s President. Other than when I was in the Villa serving as an adviser on State and Local Government Affairs, and he was the governor of Lagos State, we used to meet and relate purely in an official capacity, I never had anything to do with him. I can say I don’t know him from Adam. But I can also say he is unknowingly presently reaping from the sweat of my efforts in contriving the APC.

“But as Nigeria’s President, I pray for him to succeed. I hope for the sake of the country that he does. But for President Tinubu to succeed, he needs to focus on probity and accountability. The previous administration did not do that. They will give responsibility and there will not be any follow-up on that. I also thought he was going to address Nigeria’s problems, corruption.

“I am not worried at all; if those he appoints will deliver, I don’t care where they are from. What we want is delivery. After all, President Buhari appointed mostly northerners in most sectors of the country, but did they deliver? What benefits was it for the North? I don’t do things based on North-South, Muslim-Christian sentiments. Our country has collapsed, and I can only hope and pray for the success of President Tinubu’s administration.

“It is unfortunate that under him, the country is having serious problems, hunger, starvation, and poverty, especially in northern Nigeria. The removal of the fuel subsidy is an appeasement to international monetary organisations as far as I am concerned. But it is not helping the country; we are not subsidising anything. If President Tinubu wants to change the country, he must change the mode of governing the country because the mode of governance is faulty.”