The Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, Adams Oshiomhole, has asked Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu's administration.
The former Edo governor said the President is not a “magician” and that Nigerians know they did not elect a magician who will solve the country’s problems in the twinkling of an eye.
Oshiomhole, who said this on Sunday night while featuring on Channels Television's Sunday Politics, also said that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) did not promise to perform miracles while campaigning for the election of Tinubu.
“They know they were not electing a magician. And nobody promised a magical solution,” he said.
“You don’t need to give me an example. I know what we (APC) promised more than you who was reporting it. Whatever you reported, we were the source. We did not promise a 24-hour solution. We did not promise miracles. We did not promise an overnight solution.
“You show me any document that says in 48 hours, this will be done. In 14 days, this should be done. In 21 days, this should be done,” the Senator representing Edo North argued.
“I think you are the one who has the illusion that once a promise is made, automatically once you get into office, either spiritually or by miracles, solutions will emerge."
Oshiomhole added, "Nobody who promises you a pair of suits if elected into office and when he gets into office but has not had access to the fabric will just hand over the suit to you.
"There is no government that would have coughed out within 24 hours a sustainable solution."
Speaking about the initially planned N8,000 monthly palliative for 12 million indigent Nigerian households each to cushion the harsh effects of fuel subsidy removal, the former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) noted that for those earning high salaries, the N8,000 means nothing but for those who barely see such an amount of money in a month, it means a lot to them.
He, however, added that the problem is that Nigeria has challenges getting accurate data.
"I think the challenge the government is facing is the usual stuff of not having reliable data. Not many Nigerians believe that the data that was used by the previous administration was reliable and as much as you want to rush to treat a patient, you don't want to throw the medication at the wrong person.
"And you want to ensure that there is a measure of accountability and that money paid can be verified and that real human beings can lay claim, especially in the formal sector where we do have challenges year after year with the minister of finance telling us about ghost workers.
"From Obasanjo's time to Yar'Adua to Jonathan to Buhari and now Tinubu, this issue of reliable national identity card, billions have been spent. Even the NIN (National Identification Number) that you have to have to be able to activate your phone, yet we don't have credible data.
"I have heard people say what will N8,000 or N10,000 do? Well, if you earn so much, you may not know the value of N8,000. For those who are completely socially excluded, N10,000 is a lot," the lawmaker said.