Commenting on Nigeria’s current economic and developmental challenges, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), the New Era for Sustainable Leadership and Accountability Initiative (NESLAI), has said that the country’s economic management was in “tatters”.
The group remarked this in a statement by its Executive Director, Edwin Femi, to journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
NESLAI said that those put in positions of economic management had failed at carrying out their jobs effectively, suggesting a “shape up or ship out” approach.
It said, “We are extremely concerned that certain components of his administration have failed to match the President’s vision with the required technical competence and sincerity of purpose that the president himself espouses.
“Meanwhile President Buhari has given opportunities to many who ordinarily wouldn’t have gotten close to the corridors of power, a number of appointees have failed, either by omission or commission, consciously or unconsciously, overtly or covertly, to translate the opportunities given to them to either change their innermost goals and interests to make the president’s vision a reality.
“It is worrisome that the president has given all appointees the marching orders to work collaboratively to lift 100million Nigerians out of extreme poverty, however certain key components of the administration appear to be working at cross purposes to this laudable and unprecedented objective in the history of governance in Nigeria.
“We are constrained to address this issue and call attention to the officials involved to either shape up or ship out of the administration to allow for the president’s objective to become a measurable reality in the life of the average Nigerian.
“The President, being the in the topmost percentile of Nigerian politicians with the closest ties to the grassroots, has made it clear where his priorities lie, those charged with the responsibility of managing the economy have gone in the opposite direction and allowed the fortunes of the average Nigerian to nosedive, perhaps out of incompetence or a covert mission to serve a certain constituency of the elite to give the president a bad name.”
It added that despite the creation of schemes such as the N-Power programme and the Survival Fund intiative, there have been no significant progress, as those put in positions to effect changes had “failed in their responsibility”.
“It is a shame that despite very laudable and people-oriented social intervention policies such as: N-Power; Survival Fund to small and medium enterprises; and Anchor Borrowers’ Programme of the administration, those saddled with the responsibility of setting our country’s economy on a solid footing to protect the economy from the elements have failed in their responsibility to the people and in justifying President Buhari’s confidence in them,” it said.
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It stated, “For an economy flirting with over 50% youth unemployment and population growth that outpaces GDP growth rate, the minister of finance has shown a record level of nonchalance and lack of empathy for the sufferings of Nigerians.
“Furthermore, she has displayed a worrying streak of cluelessness in managing the Nigerian economy and setting it on a sound footing in the vision of the president. Still there is this curious case of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), if the current occupant of that office still qualifies to be so addressed, since his time in the public service has elapsed, having attained the retirement age of 60 years.
“Mr. Ahmed Idris has continued to parade himself as AGF despite this fact, owing to an error in appointing him to serve for another term, rather than tow the path of honour and write his name in gold in the history books by resigning an appointment he ought not to have in the first place.”
Remove Finance Minister
NESLAI called for the removal of the finance minister, Zainab Ahmed, asking that Buhari took “the bull by the horn”, and dissociate himself from appointees that would “tarnish his image”.
It said, “The Minister of Finance has to go and we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to take the proverbial bull by the horn, so as to avoid a situation where some of these characters would tarnish his image.
“We also call on the President to take a look at the situation of the Accountant General and to do the needful in the interest of justice and fairness and to give other qualified public officers a shot at reaching the peak of their careers.
“We shall continue to avail the nation of our voices, as advocates for zero tolerance for corruption in the public service and assure the President of our support for his fight against corruption, despite all the noises from detractors and beneficiaries from the dysfunctional state of affairs in the past.”
