A prominent leader within Nigeria’s Peoples Democratic Party, Bode George, has called on Nigerians to extend a grace period of one more year to President Bola Tinubu to fulfill his promises and address the nation’s challenges.
George made this appeal during an interview on Arise Television on Friday.
In the interview, George emphasized that Tinubu, serving as a first-time president, requires additional time to effectively implement his policies and convey his vision to the Nigerian people. He argued that Tinubu’s inexperience in the presidential office justifies this grace period, drawing a parallel to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s initial adjustment period during his first year in office.
George remarked, “He (Tinubu) had never served at that level (presidency). Well… you will say he was part of the party (APC) that formed the government (of Muhammadu Buhari), but it’s a hell of a different thing taking over and now leading the team.”
He continued by stating, “To be fair to my conscience, he has had that one-year holiday of trying to study the failures of the past administration. I have given him that one year of grace because now he has seen it and lived there.”
George also highlighted the need for Tinubu’s ministers to identify and address areas of weakness from the previous administration within this period. He drew an analogy to Obasanjo’s presidency, noting, “Even when Baba (Olusegun Obasanjo) became president in 1999, he was still trying to figure out what happened there or vice-versa in his first year. Let’s give him more time.”