“Show The Lead” – Group Charges Tinubu Over Cost Of Governance

The League of Northern Democrats has called on President Bola Tinubu to intensify his efforts to reduce the cost of governance.

This appeal follows recent actions taken by the President amidst escalating scrutiny over the perceived extravagant lifestyles of government officials during challenging economic times.

The criticisms have been spurred by economic strains amplified by the removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the naira.

On Thursday, in a move to curb excessive government spending, President Tinubu mandated that ministerial convoys be limited to three vehicles.

The political group emphasized that the President’s leadership could be pivotal in setting a stringent example of fiscal responsibility.

The spokesman of the group, Ladan Salihu said on Channels TV, “Look, leadership is all about inspiration. It’s not an inverted pyramid. You have to, by your ways, by your actions, show the lead from the best of examples.

“You cannot buy a presidential jet for 170 billion at the going rate and buy a yacht for five billion and do a cost-saving measure. Put together, that is almost half of these expenses. So, it is just merely symbolic.”

Tinubu’s directive to the ministers has continued to generate debates among Nigerians. The presidency believes it is an attempt at leading by example.

However, Salihu is not optimistic about the measure and has raised concerns about its implementation.

“When you say you have reduced the ministerial vehicles to three. As a journalist- let me use this word loosely down – I will ask you what about the remaining vehicles.

“Where are they going to be warehoused? Are they going to be kept in the garage? The vehicles are there already. They’ve been bought. So, what it means is that if I am a minister and I have 10 vehicles, I’ll keep seven.

“So, we are not, in my opinion, about to see a drastic change in the chain of convoys ministers have.

“Do not expect to see the convoy of a minister with three vehicles. It won’t happen. If someone tells me it is going to happen. If somebody tells you it is going to happen, we are just fooling ourselves,” he noted.