The Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) has described the three-day warning strike by Nigerian workers as a “referendum” on the economic policies and performance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The campaign organisation said the industrial action had further exposed what it described as the severe economic hardship confronting Nigerians under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the MDPCO argued that the ongoing economic crisis, which culminated in organised labour’s Charter of Demands, reflected the hardship being experienced by workers and other Nigerians.
According to the organisation, the warning strike has brought into sharp focus the consequences of what it described as poorly conceived and poorly implemented economic policies.
“The APC government that lit the ‘fire’ now consuming the entire nation has become a firefighter without a hose, as President Tinubu obviously has no answers to the problems brought to our nation by his administration,” the statement said.
The campaign organisation described the strike as a direct assessment of the administration’s handling of the economy, arguing that rising living costs, declining purchasing power and widespread economic hardship have deepened public dissatisfaction.
“The warning strike is a direct referendum on a failed government; a stark measure of how ill-conceived and ill-implemented economic policies have triggered widespread poverty in Nigeria,” it stated.
The MDPCO also questioned the administration’s bid for a second term, asking whether a government that, in its view, had failed to adequately protect citizens from the impact of its economic policies could legitimately seek a renewed mandate from them.
It further criticised what it described as delays in capital-budget implementation, continued borrowing, declining transparency and accountability, as well as what it called the unfulfilled promises and limited benefits of subsidy removal.
The organisation said the celebration of purported gains from the Federal Government’s economic reforms could not substitute for tangible improvements in the living conditions of Nigerians.
“When wages lose value, the cost of living keeps rising and workers barely survive, government statistics and celebratory claims become meaningless,” it said.
According to the campaign, Nigerians require economic reforms that are people-centred and supported by transparent social safety nets capable of protecting livelihoods and cushioning the effects of economic adjustment.
“By every reasonable measure of good governance, President Tinubu has failed a basic test. Nigerians cannot afford to promote failure. They deserve a government that has the capacity and integrity to deliver results,” the organisation said.
The MDPCO said its proposed Makinde/Daura Presidency would provide an alternative through the RESET Nigeria Agenda, which it described as a data-driven and people-oriented framework focused on inclusive governance, increased national production, security, transparency and accountability.
The organisation maintained that the agenda would reposition the country and address what it described as the economic and governance challenges confronting Nigerians.
“This is why Nigerians from all walks of life and even across party lines are queuing behind the Presidential Candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Engr. Seyi Makinde, in their collective quest to use the 2027 Presidential election to RESET Nigeria to a nation that truly works for all,” Ihediwa added.
