Former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has expressed doubts about Nigeria’s prospects under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, arguing that the current policy direction may yield limited results.
Duke made the remarks on Monday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM in Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State.
Despite his criticism of the President’s administration, the former governor said their political differences had not affected their personal relationship, noting that they had been friends since 1998.
“President Tinubu is my friend since 1998, but I don’t like the direction he’s going. I think we will not achieve much going in this direction. But when it comes to personality, we remain friends,” Duke said.
His comments came amid discussions about Nigeria’s economic challenges and efforts by opposition parties to establish a common platform ahead of the 2027 general election.
The PRP presidential hopeful criticised the hardship experienced by Nigerians and questioned whether the Federal Government’s economic interventions had delivered meaningful improvements in citizens’ living conditions.
He argued that government policies should be assessed based on their practical effects on the population rather than official claims of economic progress.
Duke specifically challenged the effectiveness of measures introduced to ease the consequences of fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange reforms and other economic policies implemented by the Tinubu administration.
He also questioned the benefits of several government initiatives, including conditional cash transfers, small-business grants, student loans, minimum wage adjustments and the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative.
When asked about the programmes, Duke challenged the interviewer to identify any initiative that had directly improved his circumstances.
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“Not one of these policies, would I say, has benefited me in any way,” he said.
‘Government Should Prioritise Productivity’
Duke maintained that providing temporary financial assistance to citizens was not enough to address the country’s economic difficulties.
According to him, government interventions should go beyond distributing grants and stipends to creating conditions that enable Nigerians to earn sustainable incomes and improve their productivity.
He argued that a government’s central objective should be to empower citizens to generate economic value rather than depend on periodic financial support.
“I told you that the mission statement of a government ought to be the productivity of its people,” Duke said.