Ladipo Johnson is the national publicity secretary of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). In this exclusive interview with INIOBONG IWOK, he spoke on one year anniversary of the Bola Tinubu administration. Excerpts:
President Tinubu would be one year in office this month, what is your take on his administration so far?
There has been activity, yet we do not get the feeling that the government is making much progress. The scorecard hasn’t been too good. You look at the downward trajectory of the naira, the raging inflation and cost of living, then you look at the handling of ECOWAS matters like the issue of Niger, and you realise that the government must turn things around before its midterm report is due.
A lot of Nigerians have criticized the administration’s handling of the economy, the current hardship, what do you think the government should be doing?
The Federal Government must begin to realise that its approach to fixing the economy is not having the results that it is hoping for. The government must adopt a more holistic approach to issues.
Unfortunately, it would seem that this is a “tax and spend” government. Government erroneously seems to feel that if it generates more revenue (from the masses, I dare add), it will have more money to embark on more projects.
Yet, what happens to the people? By its policies, taxes and levies, it has and is increasing inflation, the currency is losing value, and the cost of living is increasing whilst the standard of living is dropping. This has a cumulative effect of increasing the burden on the average man.
Neither are these policies, taxes and levies good for businesses. The NNPP believes that the government must take immediate steps to cut its costs, begin to reduce taxes and levies, and use additional means to stimulate the economy.
We have seen worsening insecurity, killings despite the President’s promises. What is your assessment of Tinubu’s efforts so far?
The truth is that the efforts are not enough. We must find out the reason why, despite the huge amount of resources being expended, we are not getting the desired results. He must rejig his security architecture, enhance intelligence gathering and deploy the progressive use of technology amongst other things.
You recently resumed office as the publicity secretary of NNPP, what is your immediate task?
Amongst other things, I must ensure, God willing, the repositioning of the party by bringing the policies and ideology of the party into the homes and offices of Nigerians. I have to ensure that Nigerians see the party as a viable alternative to what we have on ground at the moment.
How is the NWC working to reposition the party ahead 2027, especially with membership drive?
The National Working Committee under our able national chairman, Ajuji Ahmed is taking urgent steps to make sure that all officers of the party are more productive and proactive in the discharge of their duties. You will soon notice the effects of this.
Furthermore, we will soon be implementing various strategies to help broaden the base and spread of the party. You will see a steady growth in the spread and membership of the party as soon as we begin the implementation process of the programme earmarked by Ajuji Ahmed and the National Working Committee.
Many Nigerians believe the NNPP is still a regional party with little or no presence in other parts of the country; don’t you think efforts should be towards building national spread for the party?
We are not a regional party. As stated above, our efforts will begin to bring in more Nigerians into the party.
What is your take on the lingering leadership crisis in the party with some chieftains reporting the NWC and National leadership to the EFCC?
For the umpteenth time, may I state that there is no crisis within the NNPP, those constituting themselves into a nuisance are no longer members of the party.
They have exercised their constitutional right to seek redress from the courts. To date they have lost most of their cases and there is a Judgement of court that dismissed their claims that they be recognized as officers of the party.
There is also a valid and subsisting order of court that states that they should not parade themselves as officers of the party. They are also facing contempt proceedings. What I do not understand is the reason why the press continues to promote such obstinacy in the face of all these court decisions.
Simply put, we have amended the constitution of the party, including the logo, etc we are restructuring and repositioning and will not let some people who are fast becoming delusional, constitute an impediment to the progress of the party.
