You Are Giving Akara Money To Captive Voters – Sam Amadi Knocks Remi Tinubu

Former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi, has berated the First Lady, Remi Tinubu, over her statement urging Nigerians to embrace small-scale businesses such as selling akara, roasting corn, and producing kulikuli.

Naija News reports that Tinubu, in a video circulating online, explained the incumbent administration’s support for small businesses through grants rather than loans.

She said, “To start akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn or kuli-kuli doesn’t take much. We didn’t give them a loan, we gave them a grant. We have encouraged Nigerians as best as we could. I also gave to several others.”

Reacting in a post on 𝕏 on Friday, Amadi argued that the First Lady’s approach reflected political calculation rather than good governance.

“The First Lady, like her husband, @officialABAT is an astute politician. She knows what works best for Nigerian politics: give women party leaders brand new cars and give akara money to captive voters who will still vote you on the basis of inducement, ethnicity and religion. I applaud their dexterity,” he wrote.

He, however, maintained that political skill does not necessarily translate into effective governance.

“The only problem is that the competences for being an astute politician do not translate to competences to govern well. Nigeria will continue to stagnate and the poor will be poorer under this astuteness,” Amadi added.