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The Economy: Disturbing Signals From Presidency

Published

6 years ago

September 23, 2019

Signals emanating from and around the Presidency in recent times have not been complementary to the institution, especially as pertains to the management of the Nigerian economy. With the most acute implications is the issue of the creation of a new Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), in the face of the National Economic Council (NEC) which is provided for in Section 153 of the Constitution. President Muhammadu Buhari had recently established the PEAC under circumstances that attracted more suspicion than merit for it, in spite of the impeccable credentials of the designated members. The major plank on which public misgiving had rested was the equally trending story that the personal aides of the Vice President who is also the Chairman of the NEC, have been redeployed to operate from offices outside the immediate precincts of the State House. The two stories largely reinforce the public take that there is a rift between the offices of the President and the Vice President – a development which if true, projects the Presidency as a house divided against itself.
While as expected, the State House media team had been striving to neutralise whatever insinuations that have been generated by these strands of information, the need exists for caution to guide the Presidency as the various operatives launch one initiative after the other, many of which only heighten public sense of unease in these times. Public concern over the stance of the Presidency on the economy is justified by the harsh experiences of the first term, during which the country went into avoidable economic recession. Nigerians and foreigners alike who have stakes in the Nigerian economy easily blame the government for allowing the recession through inchoate economic policy measures made worse with wrong timing.
With the advent of PEAC, the Presidency has set for itself another challenge of convincing Nigerians that it has no agenda of vitiating the integrity of the NEC and thereby launch Nigerian economy into another season of arrested development as occurred during the first term. Given that the management of a country’s economy thrives better with transparency and orderliness in the regime of policy administration, the simultaneous operation of two economic advisory bodies hardly bodes for efficiency. Against the backdrop of the foregoing therefore, many Nigerians wondering over the legitimacy as well as utility of the new body, especially from the context of two fears. Firstly, is why create a parallel body to the constitutionally established NEC in respect of providing economic advisory inputs to the Presidency? With the Vice Presidency as its Chairman, does NEC report to any other authority beyond the President? Secondly, was the advent of PEAC playing out the script which is trending virally, on the ground that it was intended by the hawks in the Presidency to blight the political relevance of the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and predispose him to irrelevance in Nigeria’s presidential political calculus for 2023. This second fear has trended to the extent of assuming the semblance of realty in many quarters, leading some governors to actually demand formal clarification from the Vice President. He in his response to them, explained that the PEAC was just a personal think tank for the President himself and has no negative effect on the NEC. Whether the inquiring governors and the Nigerian public were convinced by the Vice President, is a matter for another day.
Meanwhile, the country is yet to come to terms with an earlier Presidential directive for all Ministers to communicate with the President officially only through the Chief of Staff, Mr Abba Kyari. Needless to recall the wave of resentment it generated when that order saw the light of day, as many suspected a hidden agenda of tacit marginalisation of whoever does not fit into the good books of Kyari, as the ‘clearing house’ for the President’s attention and favours. Many had argued then whether the Vice President should also pass through Abba Kyari to communicate with the President. However, the advent of PEAC has left many permutations trending in the public domain.
Coming back to the spectacle of the PEAC against the backdrop of happenings in the Presidency leads more than a few Nigerians to nurse the fear that the economy may still be a weak link in Buhari’s second term – this time due to infighting among the key factors in the government’s engine room. While the major weak point throughout the first term of Muhamadu Buhari as the President of the country was the nation’s economy, largely due to the misreading of its features at the inception of his tenure, the prospects of having a continuation of the same malady in the second term may be a pill too bitter for Nigerians to swallow without a whimper.
Yet, the manifest concerns of the APC government at the centre, seem to focus less on the burning issue of an improved economy and more on permutations for the post-Buhari era come 2023. Many think that the circumstances that ushered in the APC into political power at the centre in 2015 and 2019 seem to have overwhelmed the party and the Presidency that they literally forget that the country’s perennial development challenge is on the economic front.
The question now is, having bulldozed themselves into power in 2015 and 2019, is the APC keen on winning the peoples’ hearts for the future? The disturbing signals from the Presidency point to a different direction.

Monima Daminabo

Featured

Fubara Dissolves Rivers Executive Council

Published

5 days ago

February 13, 2026

The Tide

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, has dissolved the State Executive Council.

The governor announced the cabinet dissolution yesterday in a statement titled ‘Government Special Announcement’, signed by his new Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi.

Governor Fubara directed all Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most Senior officers in their Ministries with immediate effect.

He thanked the outgoing members of the State Executive Council for their service and wished them the best in their future endeavours.

The three-paragraph special announcement read, “His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, Governor of Rivers State, has dissolved the State Executive Council.

“His Excellency, the Governor, has therefore directed all Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most Senior officers in their Ministries with immediate effect.

“His Excellency further expresses his deepest appreciation to the outgoing members of the Executive Council wishing them the best in their future endeavours.”

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INEC Proposes N873.78bn For 2027 Elections, N171bn For 2026 Operations

Published

5 days ago

February 13, 2026

The Tide

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday told the National Assembly that it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections, even as it seeks N171bn to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.

INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure while presenting the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.

According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn election budget covers the full conduct of national polls in 2027.

An additional N171bn is needed to support INEC’s routine activities in 2026, including bye-elections and off-season elections, the commission stated.

The INEC boss said the proposed election budget does not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad-hoc staff during elections.

He explained that, although the details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the almost N1tn election budget is structured across five major components.

“N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses,” Amupitan said.

The INEC chief noted that the budget was prepared “in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates the Commission to prepare its election budget at least one year before the general election.”

On the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan disclosed that the Ministry of Finance provided an envelope of N140bn, stressing, however, that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”

The breakdown includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital expenditure.

He argued that the envelope budgeting system is not suitable for the Commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often require urgent and flexible funding.

Amupitan also identified the lack of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be in a better position to hold it accountable for any technical glitches.

Speaking at the session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the unique and sensitive nature of its mandate.

He advocated that the envelope budgeting model should be set aside.

He urged the National Assembly to work with INEC’s financial proposal to avoid future instances of possible underfunding.

In the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Billy Osawaru, called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge as provided in the Constitution, with funds released in full and on time to enable the Commission to plan early enough for the 2027 general election.

The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the Commission’s annual budget.

The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to increase allowances for corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Simon Along, assured that the National Assembly would work closely with the Commission to ensure it receives the necessary support for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.

Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, also pledged legislative support, warning INEC to be careful about promises it might be unable to keep.

He recalled that during the 2023 general election, INEC made strong assurances about uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing portal, creating the impression that results could be monitored in real time.

“iREV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.

The N873.78bn proposed by INEC for next year’s general election is a significant increase from the N313.4bn released to the Commission by the Federal Government for the conduct of the 2023 general election.

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Tinubu Mourns Literary Icon, Biodun Jeyifo

Published

6 days ago

February 13, 2026

The Tide

President Bola Tinubu yesterday expressed grief over the death of a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and one of Africa’s foremost literary scholars, Professor Emeritus Biodun Jeyifo.

Jeyifo passed away on Wednesday, drawing tributes from across Nigeria and the global academic community.

In a condolence message to the family, friends, and associates of the late scholar, Tinubu in a statement by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, described Jeyifo as a towering intellectual whose contributions to African literature, postcolonial studies, and cultural theory left an enduring legacy.

He noted that the late professor would be sorely missed for his incisive criticism and masterful interpretations of the works of Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.

The President also recalled Jeyifo’s leadership of ASUU, praising the temperance, foresight, and wisdom he brought to the union over the years.

Tinubu said Jeyifo played a key role in shaping negotiation frameworks with the government aimed at improving working conditions for university staff and enhancing the learning environment in Nigerian universities.

According to the President, Professor Jeyifo’s longstanding advocacy for academic freedom and social justice will continue to inspire generations.

He added that the late scholar’s influence extended beyond academia into political and cultural journalism, where he served as a mentor to numerous scholars, writers, and activists.

Tinubu condoled with ASUU, the Nigerian Academy of Letters, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, Oberlin University, Cornell University, and Harvard University—institutions where Jeyifo studied, taught, or made significant scholarly contributions.

“Nigeria and the global academic community have lost a towering figure and outstanding global citizen,” the President said.

“Professor Biodun Jeyifo was an intellectual giant who dedicated his entire life to knowledge production and the promotion of human dignity. I share a strong personal relationship with him. His contributions to literary and cultural advancement and to society at large will be missed.”

Jeyifo was widely regarded as one of Africa’s most influential literary critics and public intellectuals. Among several honours, he received the prestigious W.E.B. Du Bois Medal in 2019.