Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress for 2023, has charged APC women to tell Nigerians calling for change of government to “shut up their mouths.”

Addressing APC women on Monday, Mr Tinubu said, “If they say they want a change of government, just tell them we will like to be polite but shut up your mouth.”

The ruling party candidate added, “Prosperity is here. Help is here. Security is here. Banditry has ended. Hopelessness is not in our dictionary.”

Contrary to Mr Tinubu’s claim, Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari APC-led regime has been faced with economic hardship and increased unemployment and poverty as well as heightened insecurity as bandits continue to kidnap many for ransom. 

In his Independence Day speech on October 1, Mr Buhari admitted that “despite continuing efforts, unemployment, underemployment, and poverty rates remain high.”

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the rate of unemployment under the Buhari regime rose five-fold from 6.4 per cent in 2010 to 33.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2020.

In 2018, Nigeria displaced India to become the world’s poverty capital, according to a report by Brookings Institution, while the debt profile of the giant of Africa hit N42 trillion in June under the watch of Mr Buhari, according to data from the Debt Management Office. 

With the regime proposing to borrow over N11 trillion to fund the 2023 budget deficit, Mr Bubari will bequeath to Nigeria over N50 trillion debt when he leaves next year May.

The former Lagos governor is contesting the presidency against Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi of Labour Party and a host of other candidates.