Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the outcome of President Bola Tinubu’s strategy to address pressing issues like food security, security challenges, and monetary policy.

Tinubu, during a recent meeting with governors, outlined plans to cut all forms of “rent seekers” tied to imported food by setting up schemes to boost local food production.

The president also said he has approved the creation of a committee that includes state governors and federal government representatives to explore the possibility of establishing state police.

However, Atiku, in a tweet on Sunday, criticised Tinubu’s approach as “cooking a cocktail that has brought untold hardship to the people of Nigeria.”

He accused the administration of failing to present meaningful solutions, instead dismissing concerns and defending its controversial foreign exchange (FX) policy.

Atiku said he was disappointed by the outcome of the meeting, which he described as yet another instance of the government’s failure to showcase any concrete policy steps.

According to him, Tinubu failed to present any meaningful solutions, instead opting to dismiss concerns and defend his administration’s controversial FX policy.

“I don’t agree with that,” declared Atiku. “The wrong policies of the Tinubu administration continue to cause untold pain and distress on the economy.”

The former vice president also accused Tinubu’s administration of hubris and a “poverty of ideas,” claiming that Tinubu was unwilling to engage with alternative solutions.

“The wrong policies of the Tinubu administration continue to cause untold pain and distress on the economy and the rest of us cannot keep quiet when, clearly, the government has demonstrated sufficient poverty of ideas to redeem the situation,” he added.

“If the government will not hold on to their usual hubris, there are ways that the country can walk out of the current crisis.”

In contrast, Atiku, who ran against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, offered his own set of policy prescriptions, outlined in his document “My Covenant With Nigerians,” as an alternative path out of the crisis.

“I had signed on to a commitment to reform the operation of the foreign exchange market. Specifically, there was a commitment to eliminate multiple exchange rate windows. The system only served to enrich opportunists, rent-seekers, middlemen, arbitrageurs, and fraudsters,” Atiku said.

He noted that a fixed exchange rate system would be out of the question, saying, “It would not be in line with our philosophy of running an open, private sector-friendly economy. Secondly, operating a successful fixed-exchange rate system would require sufficient FX reserves to defend the domestic currency at all times.”

Atiku insisted that Nigeria’s major challenge is the persistent FX illiquidity occasioned by limited foreign exchange inflows to the country, adding, that without sufficient FX reserves, confidence in the Nigerian economy will remain low, and Naira will remain under pressure.

“On the other hand, given Nigeria’s underlying economic conditions, adopting a floating exchange rate system would be an overkill. We would have encouraged the Central Bank of Nigeria to adopt a gradualist approach to FX management.,”

“A managed-floating system would have been a preferred option. In simple terms, in such a system, the Naira may fluctuate daily, but the CBN will step in to control and stabilise its value. Such control will be exercised judiciously and responsibly, especially to curve speculative activities.”

The former VP  added that Tinubu’s new FX management policy “was hurriedly put together” without proper plans and stakeholder consultation.

He noted that the government failed to anticipate or downplay the potential and real negative consequences of its actions.