Speak Directly To Nigerians, Ex-Minister Urges Tinubu

Former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has called on President Bola Tinubu to initiate quarterly town hall meetings aimed at engaging political stakeholders and community leaders across the six geopolitical regions.

Shittu, who served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, conveyed this appeal in an interview with The PUNCH.

While acknowledging that President Tinubu is not responsible for the ongoing challenges stemming from the removal of fuel subsidies, Shittu emphasized the importance of direct communication between the president and the public.

Despite the current difficulties, the former member of the Oyo State House of Assembly insisted on the necessity for President Tinubu to address the people directly through town hall sessions.

Shittu encouraged Tinubu to maintain the approach he adopted during election campaigns, where he actively participated in town hall meetings.

According to Shittu, this method stands out as one of the most effective ways for the President to gain insights and feedback from the grassroots level.

He said, “If I were in his shoes, I believe there is a need for the President to have direct town hall meetings in each of the six geopolitical zones on a quarterly basis; perhaps as he did during his electioneering. This is because there are so many things that even the ministers may not know.

“He needs to talk to people directly. For instance, if he comes to South West and fixes a meeting for Ibadan, anybody who has something to say or abuse him should get such an opportunity to say it.

“From those abuses, he could get a lot of facts because, from every nonsense, you could make out some sense. There is a need for interaction. I don’t want a situation where we have to wait until two to three years when another election is coming that we start trying to have such town halls.

“I keep telling people that the most important job in this world is that of a politician. As a politician, you are in a position to impact larger numbers of people more than if you’re just a billionaire or professor somewhere.

“A lot of ideas keep coming to my head, and I think there is a need for greater interaction with the people. Again, I think he needs to create dedicated time to personally attend to people’s complaints instead of leaving everything to his media aides.”