Posted by Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant on Public Communication for the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, charged President Bola Tinubu on Saturday with appointing detractors to the administration for nefarious purposes.
Shaibu asserted that Tinubu meets frequently with some of the opposition’s leading figures to gain support and covertly silence reputable critics.
Shaibu responded to Taiwo Oyedele’s appointment by claiming that it was merely a ruse to get him to stop criticizing the government on radio, television, and social media, which he has been doing virtually everyday.
Shaibu highlighted in a statement that previous President Muhammadu Buhari used a similar procedure when choosing his economic advisory committee.
It is well known that Mr. Oyedele is the most vocal supporter of tax reforms, said Shaibu. He highlighted some of the APC government’s bad tax practices last Saturday. He was designated chairman of a tax reform committee yesterday (Friday), but no other members were made public in an effort to quiet him. They most likely want him to work by himself.
“Mr. Oyedele will no longer be able to discuss the shortcomings of the government because of this new appointment. Mr. Oyedele would do well to resist Tinubu’s attempts to discredit him. As he did in Lagos, Tinubu’s only method for generating economic growth is utilizing businesses connected to him to raise taxes in exchange for a commission.
“Mr. Oyedele must not allow this appointment to fool him. President Buhari named Doyin Salami, Chukwuma Soludo, and Bismark Rewane to his economic advisory council in 2019 in a similar manner, although he never heeded their counsel for even a single day. In the end, Nigeria was thrown into one of its greatest economic crises ever, with a debt profile that was unheard of, multidimensional poverty, and unemployment rates that had never been seen before.
Shaibu claimed Tinubu was buying off opposition politicians to give his administration some kind of legitimacy following a dubious electoral triumph.
He contended that Tinubu’s so-called “government of national unity” was only a ploy to crush the opposition.
These were the strategies used by the late General Sani Abacha, who appointed a number of June 12 supporters in an effort to silence them. In the end, a large number of these individuals who exchanged their mandate for a bowl of porridge turned against the democratic cause and never recovered politically.
“Those who Tinubu is courting should be aware that this is all a ruse to give him legitimacy. It’s best to approach the devil with a large spoon whenever possible. They need to exercise caution when working for his regime since doing so might irreparably harm their credibility.