APC chieftain to governors: Don’t sabotage Tinubu’s efforts
By Olusegun Olanrewaju
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has appealed to the state governors and senior civil servants to give President Bola Tunubu the maximum support as he makes efforts to fix the Nigerian economy.
Oyintiloye said that the president alone can’t achieve his Renewed Hope Agenda for the people without the support of the governors and top civil servants, who are the engine room of the government.
Speaking with newsmen yesterday in Osogbo, Oyintiloye said the governors need to support the various initiatives of the president in fixing the economy by utilising their monthly allocations for poverty alleviation in their various states.
The APC chieftain said the various efforts of the president in fixing the economy may not be immediately visible to many Nigerians, if the state governors refuse to utilise their monthly allocation for the benefit of the masses in their states.
According to him, what the state governors are earning from the federal allocation since the removal of the fuel subsidy is capable of putting smiles on the faces of the people, if judiciously used.
“This is the time for state governors, irrespective of political affiliations, to join the president in fixing the economy by attending to the welfare of the people.
“What the president is doing at the centre to fix the economy will only be meaningful to the people, if the state governors can lend a helping hand.
“What the governors are currently collecting as monthly allocation is more than in enough to lift the people out of poverty to what the president is doing.”
He added, “While the masses are shouting the name of the president at every slight discomfort, they should also hold their governors accountable, asking them what they are doing with the improved monthly allocation.
“To set the record straight, the governors have to come out and tell people of their states the amount they have collected since June last year, and how they have administered the funds.
“In the reckoning of most Nigerians now, the governors are seen as part of those sabotaging efforts of the president to lessen the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on the people.”
Oyintiloye, a former member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), also said the senior civil and permanent secretaries must not allow unnecessary bureaucracy to undermine the efforts of the president in fixing the economy.
He said they should heed to the directive of the president during his meeting with them in which he warned against ineffectiveness and unnecessary bureaucracy that could result in the delay of interventions in the economy and programmes targeting vulnerable citizens.
A former lawmaker, Oyintiloye said this was the time for the senior civil servants and the permanent secretaries to be on the same page with the president towards improving the lives of Nigerians by acting with dispatch on matters that border on the welfare of citizens.
His further words, “We are in a very critical situation in which unnecessary bureaucracy which can hinder the efforts of the president be suspended.
“Any act of sabotage in whatever form in the civil service should be rooted out for the sake of the benefit of the masses.”
Oyintiloye also commended the president on his directive on a monthly briefing by the Head of Service and submission of key performance indicator reports for his review.
He said this will improve service delivery and prompt attendance to issues that would impact the welfare of the people and the economy.
Oyintiloye, however, appealed to the masses to be patient with the president, adding that with all the various interventions the president is putting in place, the country will soon attain the height of desired greatness.
