Governor Dapo Abiodun has slammed Nigerians lamenting the unprecedented hardship wrought by President Bola Tinubu’s harsh economic policies, describing them as “sore losers.”

In an interview with Channel TV on Thursday night, Mr Abiodun attributed nationwide #EndHunger protests to the scheming of politicians Mr Tinubu defeated in the 2023 presidential election. 

Mr Tinubu “majorly won that election. And that says one thing, that those who want him to be president are more than those that didn’t want him to be president,” said the Ogun governor.

Mr Abiodun added, “The problem we have today is that Nigerians are sore losers. Rather than decided or accept the fact that if you want a regime change, wait for 2027. Don’t begin to sponsor faceless and leaderless protests under the guise that you are dissatisfied. Yes, the odd reality is not peculiar to Nigeria alone.”

Nigeria’s inflation hit 34 per cent under Mr Tinubu’s watch, while food prices have continued to spike astronomically. Though the International Monetary Fund lauded Mr Tinubu’s policies, fuel subsidy removal and unification of foreign exchange, the nation’s economy has taken a plunge for the worse. 

Meanwhile, the Ogun governor’s statement has sparked reactions from several Nigerians online. 

An X user, @FrannyOD, posted the video of Mr Abiodun’s statement, saying, “This incompetent criminal called Nigerians Sore Losers! – Dapo Abiodun. The Audacity of a fraudster to undermine the efforts of hard-working Nigerians demanding a better country.”

@sr_leky said, “Gov. Dapo Abiodun is one of the most useless Governor I have ever seen in my life. We must end #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria by force by fire.”

@pureMinD said, “Dapo Abiodun, a sitting Governor who lived large on tax payers money for 4years without any significant achievement in Ogun State and was rewarded with another 4years called Nigerians “sore losers” on a live television. Can you now see that we aren’t even angry enough?”