‘I Have Nothing Against Tinubu, But His Policy Has No Human Face’ – SDP National Chairman

The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Shehu Gabam, has expressed concern over the policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, stating that while he holds no personal grudge against the president, the government’s policies lack empathy and fail to prioritise the well-being of Nigerians.

In an interview with Vanguard, Gabam criticised the government’s handling of security, governance, and economic matters, asserting that the administration has not significantly improved the country’s situation.

Gabam dismissed the argument that Tinubu’s government should not be blamed for ongoing challenges due to its short time in office.

According to him, governance is a continuous process, and Tinubu knowingly took over an already struggling system with promises to fix it.

“There is nothing like that in governance. Governance is about continuity. President Bola Tinubu is aware of the rotten situation or the rotten system he inherited. He promised to fix them. He campaigned on them and at that point said that if I do not provide electricity to all Nigerians within four years, don’t vote for me again, which means that he understood clearly what to be done, what he wants to achieve, what are the deliverables,” Gabam stated.

He stressed that while insecurity was an inherited problem, the expectation was that the president would take decisive action to address it.

“Now, one of the things he has inherited is insecurity. There is no doubt about it. It is not just him. Even the previous administration inherited that. In 1999, there was a report that there would be pockets of crisis across the geopolitical zones. So every president that came into office got a security report and intelligence of what the country was going through,” the SDP Chair noted.

“The First Thing He Did Was to Remove Subsidy” – Shehu Gabam

Gabam criticised Tinubu’s approach to fuel subsidy removal, describing it as abrupt and inconsiderate, given the economic hardships already plaguing Nigerians.

“What we expected is that the president will prioritise what he wants to achieve. The first thing he did was to remove the subsidy in a nation that was already enveloped by poverty, insecurity, rascality, lack of deterrence, and the subsidy was removed,” he said.

While he acknowledged that most presidential candidates had proposed subsidy removal, he argued that no leader who truly understands the country’s challenges would execute it in full without a phased approach.

Gabam said, “They did not say they would remove it 100 per cent. This is not the first time the subsidy was removed. Every president that understands the dynamics and the peculiarities of his own country knows that you cannot go all the hog and remove it completely. You have to do it bit by bit so that you feel the pulse of the people, of the citizens.”

“I Expected Him to Stop the System from Derailing” – Shehu Gabam

Gabam emphasised that while Nigeria’s problems did not begin with Tinubu, he had hoped the president would act swiftly to reverse the nation’s decline.

“Not just under this government. My fear was that he inherited a system that was derailing. My expectation was that he would stop it. That was my expectation,” he said.

Despite his disappointment, Gabam noted that he initially believed Tinubu had the potential to outperform his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.

“I have always said that he would perform much better than even former President Muhammadu Buhari. I said it on air several times. I have nothing against him as a president. But I have everything against the policy that they are pursuing that has no human face and doesn’t recognise the dignity of the citizens,” he added.

“Security Has Not Improved” – Shehu Gabam

Addressing security concerns, Gabam challenged the notion that the country has made meaningful progress, pointing out that insecurity continues to disrupt key sectors, particularly agriculture.

“What is the improvement from what you know? Do we have improvement in the agricultural culture that is related to insecurity? Farmers cannot go to farms,” he said.

Regarding the security situation in the North-West, he acknowledged that while some states have experienced relief, others remain deeply affected by banditry.

“It depends where you are talking about in the North-West. In Katsina streets, there is still banditry going on. In Zamfara, there is still banditry going on and some other places. You can minus Kano, you can minus Jigawa and the South. But in all these states where you have banditry that have been entrenched, it has been reduced, but it is still constituted.”

Gabam concluded by reiterating his concerns about the direction of the country, insisting that governance must prioritise the people’s welfare above all else.