By Ademola Babalola in Ibadan
The recent statement credited to the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) complaining of marginalization of the North through the instrumentality of the 2016 budget has attracted criticisms from the Yoruba elders.
The elders under the umbrella of the Yoruba Unity Forum at a press conference held at Premier Hotel, Ibadan, and addressed by Reverend Emmanuel Bolanle Gbonigi, critically analysed the one year administration of All Progressives Congress under President Muhammadu Buhari and returned a verdict that ‘the President needs to be reminded that he was elected by all Nigerians to serve all Nigerians and not a particular ethnic region’.
Gbonigi, the Chairman and leader of the forum, said at a well attended conference: “Nigerians are shocked that a president who prided himself as belonging to no one and belonging to everyone will conceive a policy clearly designed to favour a particular ethnic group which also happens to be his ethnic group.”
The eight page speech examined and centred upon how Buhari administration had impacted on the people; the anti-corruption fight; his frequent foreign travels; increase in the pump price of petroleum products; the gross domestic product on GDP growth; inflation rate which had soared to 13.7%; increase in the number of unemployed persons to the recent sacking of many workers in the financial sector; steady decline in stock exchange; collapse of daily crude oil to just 1.4mbpd; drop in power generation; drop in external reserves below $27 billion from about $32 billion a year ago and fleeing of foreign investors from Nigeria in droves; among other state of the nation issues that are not palatable to the hearing.
Those in attendance were Gbonigi’s deputy, Arbishop Ayo Ladigbolu, his vice Chairman who also doubles as the Yoruba Think Thank Chairman, Senator Femi Okurounmu, a former minister, Professor Tunde Adeniran, Kofoworola Akerele Bucknor, Princess Bisi Sangodoyin, Mrs. Bolajoko Doherty, Chief Emmanuel Adelana amongst others,
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