‘It’s Not Fair To Rate Tinubu’s Performance Within Seven Months’ – Ex-minister, Abdullahi

Former Minister for Youth Development and Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, has asserted it would be wrong to rate President Bola Tinubu’s performance within seven months of assuming office.

Naija News reports that Abdullahi made this known in an interview with The PUNCH, urging Nigerians to give Tinubu, state governors and senators elected into office ample time before commenting on their performance.

When asked if the recent budget presented by Tinubu would address the current hardship in Nigeria, Abdullahi said effectiveness and implementation of the budget are the most important.

The former minister also urged Tinubu to seek the help of economic experts in confronting the country’s current challenge.

He said, “The budget is an indication of what the government has to do. But President Bola Tinubu was sworn in May; we still need to give him sufficient time. This is someone who has always been President. Yes, the initial decision that he had to take was very hard, but I believe we need to give sufficient time to the people we have elected, including the senators, House of Representatives members, governors, and others. I don’t think it is fair to determine their performance within seven months.

“Though I have not had time to look at the details of the budget, the important thing is the effectiveness of its implementation. The budget showed there are deficits. This implies that the government will be involved in more borrowing. You can see that there is a structural quagmire that has been carried over the years. What the government needs to do is bring in people who are experts in this kind of situation.

“This country is blessed with such people. It may not be people in government. We have people in the Diaspora and the private sector. Bring in anybody who has very important conditions in dealing with the economic situation of this country. The economic situation is very serious. The budget indicates that the government is aware that we are in a very serious situation.

“So, the question is how we go about implementing the budget and ensuring that the expectations of the people are met because the people have hopes, and incidentally, that is why the budget was tagged as the budget of renewed hope. So, what matters in the end is how to ensure that the hopes of the people are not dashed.”