A political activist and former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has commended the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, for his timely warning over the precarious state of the nation’s economy.
Frank, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, also called on other traditional rulers and religious leaders to emulate the Emir by speaking out to save the country from imminent collapse.
It could be recalled that Emir Sanusi – a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)- had raised the alarm that the country was heading towards a catastrophic bankruptcy as a result of the poor management of the economy by the current administration.
He also recalled that the former Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and ex-Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, had issued a similar warning about a month ago when he declared that Nigeria was heading towards another recession.
He stated that the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to implement a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers – six months after signing the bill into law – as well as the inability of many state governments to pay salaries were clear signs that the country’s economy is messed up.
Frank said: “This is a government that has failed to implement a new minimum wage for its workforce after Buhari hurriedly signed the minimum wage bill into law in April to save face on May Day. Buhari has breached the minimum wage act by refusing to implement it.
“This is a government that has failed to implement financial autonomy for state judiciary and legislatures which Buhari signed into law in June 2018, following the last constitutional amendment exercise.
“In many states of the federation, full workers’ salaries have not been paid for upwards of three years. Is it not benumbing that the newly inaugurated government in Ogun State had to secure a N7billion bank loan to pay May salaries?”
He stated that having failed in the last four years to meet the aspirations of Nigerians for humane, purposeful and progressive governance, the present administration had resorted to churning out lies in order to keep Nigerians in perpetual bondage.
He further urged Nigerians not to be carried away by government’s promise to lift 100million Nigerians out of poverty.
Frank called on international development partners to prevail on the Nigerian government to be more responsive to the genuine needs of the people in order to save Nigerians from the current state of avoidable and unnecessary hardship.
