Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Lagos Labour Party’s governorship candidate in 2023, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of utter extravagance amid unprecedented hardship in the country.

“So we have a culture of wastefulness and extravagance that doesn’t reflect the dire economic situation, which the president is saying will be reformed,” said Mr Rhodes-Vivour, who appeared on Channels TV on Thursday night.

He added, “Reformation should be in the interest of the people. At the moment, the only people who seem to be benefiting from these reforms are the people in government and the president’s friends.”

Mr Rhodes-Vivour slammed the president’s constant promises as unrealistic, accusing Mr Tinubu of favouring his friends and politicians with his reforms.

“Hardworking Nigerians are out there experiencing extreme levels of hardship; meanwhile, you’re seeing in the budget where almost 22 billion naira is allocated for state house maintenance and another N4.6 billion budgeted to buy new bullet-proof vehicles. So you literally see a political class being pampered by the commonwealth of our country,” he noted.

Despite constant calls for review of his policies, Mr Tinubu has insisted that they are necessary to save the country from collapse and promised to fix the economic challenges. In his New Year message, the president promised Nigerians of better days.

“I would be able to take what the president is saying if he is currently experiencing Nigeria for what it is to the common man today,” Mr Rhodes-Vivour declared while reacting to Mr Tinubu’s New Year message to Nigerians.

Mr Rhodes-Vivour further said genuine reformation must begin from the president and other politicians feeling the pain caused by his policies while ensuring public resources are well husbanded.

He added, “The political elites should also feel the pains, and we should see it in their budgeting. There are countries in the world where politicians use their cars. What cars does the president want to buy that he doesn’t already have?”