James Agberebi
A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu used his first year to study the failures of the past administration under Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking in an interview on Arise Television on Friday George, a strong critic of Tinubu, urged Nigerians to give the president one more year to deliver.
“He (Tinubu) had never served at that level (presidency). Well… you will say he was part of the party (APC) that formed the government (of Muhammadu Buhari), but it’s a hell of a different thing taking over and now leading the team.
“To be fair to my conscience, he has had that one-year holiday of trying to study the failures of the past administration. I have given him that one year of grace because now he has seen it and lived there.”
George said Tinubu’s lack of presidential experience deserves a one-year grace period, citing former President Olusegun Obasanjo who needed to adjust in his first year in office.
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“I expect his ministers to have come back in one year with those areas of lapses. Even when Baba (Olusegun Obasanjo) became president in 1999, he was still trying to figure out what happened there or vice versa in his first year. Let’s give him more time.”
He said Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa, but the country has not lived up to the description since the return of democracy in 1999.
He said that 25 years after the military left power, the country could not be said to have done better, adding that Nigeria could only regain its rightful place through the collective determination of leaders and followers.
George stated that an honest assessment of the performance of Tinubu’s administration could only be done after he had spent some more time in office.
