Headlines
Experts Dismiss Tinubu’s Economic Team As Flawed
Some economic experts have picked holes in the composition of the economic team set up by President Bola Tinubu, describing it as flawed.
Tinubu, on Wednesday, approved the establishment of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) and the Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce (EET) to tackle the prevailing economic challenges in the country.
The PECC is made up of President Bola Tinubu as Chairman and Vice President Kashim Shettima as Vice Chairman.
Other members are, President of the Nigerian Senate, Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and other relevant Ministers.
The council will also have some members of the organized private sector, joining for a period not exceeding one (1) year, subject to the President’s directive
They are Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr. Tony Elumelu, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, Ms. Amina Maina, Mr. Begun Ajayi-Kadir among others.
But economic experts who spoke with Daily Trust on Thursday said the composition was flawed, saying it was composed of stakeholders with vested interests.
A Professor of Economics and the Director, Centre for Economic Policy Analysis and Research, at the University of Lagos, Ndubisi Nwokoma, argued that a professional body such as the Nigeria Economic Society would have made a greater impact in the committee.
He said: “The composition of that team is somewhat flawed because these are stakeholders who all have interest in the economy. If you bring in people who have interest, they would protect their own interest; they would protect their own businesses.
“They would be thinking of policies that actually would favour them, nobody would go into a discussion that would work against him.
“I think bringing professional bodies like the Nigerian Economic Society, these are purely intellectuals, people that don’t have any stake who are not business men, who are just looking at the contextual issues and looking at the direction of government and find out where the government ought to take the economy to and what should be done to get there.”
He expressed concern that the country’s economy has been consumption based, saying: “In terms of where the economy should go, I think fundamentally we have gotten it wrong as a country, I think we need to look at the fundamental issues in terms of the structure of the economy.”
Also speaking, Professor Adeola Adenikinju of the Department of Economics, University of Ibadan and Vice President of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) while hailing the composition of the committee as timely, however raised issues with its composition.
According to him, the committee is composed of largely government assisted people, who are going to benefit from the expected policies they are coming up with.
“Every government needs to have a body of experts to advise them on the efficacy of policies put in place and what are the new policies to ensure the economy works better.
“In terms of the composition, the intellectuals, the experts who are working in this area are not there. What you see are largely government assisted people who are interested in one contract or the other. So they are not going to be neutral in terms of the advice they are going to give. There is a likelihood that they would want to protect their interest. You don’t have lecturers; you don’t have the Nigerian Economic Society, who are on the intellectual side of the society,” he submitted.
By Eric Elezuo
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been declared winner of the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The declaration was made at the Trascorp Hilton Hotel, where the final collation of results was made.
The former Vice President polled a total of 1, 846, 370 votes to defeat his closest rival, former Governor of Rivers State, Hon Rotimi Amaechi, who scored just over 500 thousand votes. Alhaji Muhammed Hayatu-Deen came third.
Headlines
ADC Presidential Primary: Hayatu-Deen Alleges Rigging, Withdraws from Results Announcement
One of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, says he will not attend the announcement of the party’s presidential primary election results, citing allegations of widespread vote rigging.
In a statement on his X handle on Tuesday, Hayatu-Deen expressed concern over reports of electoral irregularities from across the country.
The ADC aspirant noted that he witnessed some of the incidents.
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps,” the statement read.
The development comes amid keen competition for the ADC presidential ticket involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and Hayatu-Deen.
The ADC presidential primary election collation exercise will take place in Abuja. Results are expected from across the nation.
Ahead of the nationwide presidential primary held on Monday, the ADC had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative.
According to him, the party remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” Abdullahi stated.
The party also stressed that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
Headlines
You’re Not Different from APC, INEC, Amaechi Slams ADC, Rejects Presidential Primary Results
A former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the results of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primaries, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
Amaechi, in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, described the outcome of the exercise as “concocted results.”
He said he had earlier made it clear that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that about 80 percent of party members across the country were prevented from voting during the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he stated.
The former Governor of Rivers State accused the party of engaging in practices it had previously condemned in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to him, the ADC cannot criticize vote buying, rigging and manipulation of election results by others while allegedly engaging in similar acts during its own primary.
Amaechi added that the development was unacceptable and contrary to the ideals upon which the party was founded.
