Tinubu handing over Nigeria’s resources to cronies, his policies have decimated middle class – Falana

• Falana noted that the wholesale implementation of neoliberal policies suggested by the International Monetary Fund has wiped out Nigeria’s middle class and impoverished millions of citizens.

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, says President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms have plunged Nigerians into unprecedented economic hardship, depleting their purchasing power and disposable income.

Falana noted that the wholesale implementation of neoliberal policies suggested by the International Monetary Fund has wiped out Nigeria’s middle class and impoverished millions of citizens.

Falana, who spoke on Monday when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, said the president will need to review some of his policies.

Falana noted that despite the President’s recent acknowledgement of the economic hardship Nigerians are grappling with, his policies have further worsened poverty.

“I have seen the President ask APC governors to ‘wet the ground’ more, but as far as the masses of our people are concerned, things are getting tougher by the day because of the harsh economic crisis in the country, which the president recognise that Nigerians all over the country are complaining that things are getting tougher for them.

“Because of the religious implementation of neoliberal policies by the government, poverty is on the ascendancy. That will require a review of these policies,” he said

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria faulted the government’s privatisation campaign, saying it is concentrating the nation’s resources in the hands of a few people.

He noted that it defeats efforts to tackle income inequality, adding that the government must reset its priorities and provide targeted support for vulnerable Nigerians, especially those in rural areas.

“You cannot be addressing income inequality in a country while handing over the nation’s resources to a few people in the name of privatisation.

“Most Nigerians cannot afford three square meals a day. The middle class has been wiped out by the neoliberal policies of the government.

“The government must go back to the drawing board and review each of these policies, especially those pushed by the IMF and World Bank, in the interest of Nigerians. It is in the interest of the government to review its policies as soon as possible,” he stated