By TheInvestigator
Former Minister of Transportation and African Democratic Congress (ADC) Vice-Presidential candidate, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has accepted an open debate challenge to the Federal Government’s economic team, insisting he is ready to defend his criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies.
Amaechi made the declaration on Saturday during an ADC town hall meeting in Calabar, Cross River State, where he accused the President of imposing severe economic hardship on Nigerians by removing the fuel subsidy without adequate measures to cushion its effects.
He argued that the decision was taken without sufficient consultation or preparation for its economic consequences, alleging that the policy amounted to punishing Nigerians who did not vote for Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.
“If I were him, I would have sat down with economists, with political scientists, and with some Nigerians and asked them, what do we do?” Amaechi said.
He also challenged the argument that subsidy removal demonstrated presidential courage, warning that decisive action without adequate consideration of its consequences could become recklessness.
“There’s a small line between courage and recklessness,” he said, using the example of a moving train to illustrate the dangers of decisions whose consequences cannot be reversed immediately.
Amaechi further alleged that Tinubu’s approach reflected disregard for Nigerians who voted against him in the last presidential election.
“So when the president says, ‘I have the courage, and I removed the subsidy,’ to the president, it did not matter. You are nobody. Do you know why you are nobody? Because you didn’t vote for him,” he said.
“He was very angry with you for not voting for him. So he decided to punish you for not voting for him,” he added.
The ADC Vice Presidential candidate said the removal of the subsidy had increased transportation costs and worsened the cost of living, arguing that the government should have put adequate relief measures in place before implementing the policy.
In a direct challenge to the administration, Amaechi declared his readiness to debate any representative of the Federal Government’s economic team on the policy and its consequences.
“Even though I’m not an economist, I’m still ready for a debate with anyone they will bring forward,” he said.
