Senator Orji Kalu has stated that President Bola Tinubu is fully aware of the economic struggles Nigerians are facing and is taking steps to address the situation.
Speaking on Thursday, October 17, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the lawmaker emphasized that Tinubu is in touch with the plight of the people.
“The president himself knows that Nigerians are suffering and hungry. He is a street person; he knows the street very well,” Kalu said.
He went further to explain that the president sometimes personally observes the situation by driving around the capital. “The president some nights uses his car to go around and know what is happening in Abuja here,” Kalu added.
The senator also addressed the broader context of Nigeria’s economic challenges, highlighting the inflation rate, which the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported as 32.7 percent in September 2024. Since the removal of the fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, the cost of basic goods has surged, placing a significant burden on millions of Nigerians.
On this, Kalu argued that the economic hardship is not unique to Nigeria, noting that many nations are still feeling the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The impact of COVID-19 is still affecting economies globally,” he said.
According to him, the reason other countries may not feel the economic strain as intensely as Nigeria is due to their longstanding economic stability. “The only reason some countries are no longer feeling the COVID-19 impact the way Nigeria is feeling it is because they have built a robust economy for a very long period,” Kalu explained.