Tinubu Is My Friend, But His Government Serves Few – Duke

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party and former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying its policies and spending decisions suggest that the government is serving the interests of a select group rather than the wider Nigerian population.

Duke made the remarks in a promotional clip for an interview on 60 Minutes with Mr Kay, scheduled to air at 7 pm on Saturday on News Central TV.

Asked by interviewer Kayode Akintemi whether Tinubu was his friend, Duke replied, “Absolutely, he’s my friend.”

Akintemi then asked him to assess the president’s performance, given their personal relationship.

“You could see that very early in the day, it wasn’t a government for Nigeria; it was a government for a few,” Duke said.

He criticised what he described as excessive government spending, referring to the purchase of a new presidential aircraft and other expenditures.

“You buy a new jet for yourself, you start making spurious expenditures, you do things that you yourself criticise other governments for,” he said.

Duke also compared the country’s current security situation with his childhood experience travelling by train and bus to attend school.

“At the age of 10, I went by train from Ido to Zaria, and by bus from Zaria to Sokoto to start school. Today we wouldn’t do it, because we’re scared that the children will never get there,” he said.

On public spending and accountability, the former governor argued that the government should be assessed against its approved budget and the level of implementation.

“There must be consequences to our act. The budget is the law. What percentage of the budget is being implemented?” he asked.

He also questioned the country’s electricity performance, referring to what he described as the merging of three budgets into one and the government’s stated ambition to increase power generation to 10,000 megawatts.

“When you’re a country that has been flaring 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas daily for over 40 years, say you want to move it to 10,000 megawatts, and you should be clapped for, I think there’s a tumour in the brain of those people who talk like this,” Duke said.

He also cited an alleged $16 billion expenditure on the power sector, claiming that it had not resulted in any additional electricity being added to the national grid.

“Look, in this country, we spent, allegedly, $16 billion, right, trying to, on power. We didn’t add one kilowatt to the grid,” he said.

The trailer contains excerpts from the interview and does not present the full conversation. The complete interview is scheduled to air on News Central’s 60 Minutes with Mr Kay at 7 pm.

“What percentage of the budget is being implemented?..”

People’s Redemption Party presidential candidate, Donald Duke, questions government spending, Nigeria’s power sector and Tinubu’s leadership in a conversation on 60 Minutes with Mr Kay.

Read More : Zulum Orders Suspension of Absent Dikwa Council Officials

Showing tonight, Saturday, November… pic.twitter.com/RhEPbrEKA9

— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) November 14, 2026