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The Economy: Disturbing Signals From Presidency

Published

7 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

We’ll Be Intentional In Our Support To Improve NYSC Scheme -Fubara

Published

4 days ago

August 10, 2026

The Tide

Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) of his administration’s commitment to supporting and strengthening the scheme in the State.

Fubara gave the assurance last Friday at the NYSC permanent orientation camp, Nonwa-Gbam, Tai Local Government Area in the State, during the swearing-in ceremony of 2026 Batch B Stream II orientation course.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Bureau, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Promise Oguzie, the governor said the State Government would remain intentional in providing the necessary support to improve the NYSC scheme and enhance the experiences of corps members deployed to the state.

He charged the corps members to be role models and quality nation-builders in their service to the good people of Rivers State in particular, and Nigeria at large.

“I charge you to be exemplary, dedicated and committed in all you do. Take full advantage of all the camp programmes and activities to enrich yourselves”, he said.

In his welcome address, the State Coordinator of NYSC in Rivers State, Mr. Moses Oleghe, urged corps members to see their deployment to Rivers State as a “veritable opportunity to make meaningful contribution to the growth of the State in particular and Nigeria at large.”

He further charged them to serve with all sense of “integrity, discipline, and the fear of God, especially when they will be engaged as INEC ad-hoc staff that will conduct the 2027 general elections.”

A total of 3,584 corps members composed of 1,421 males and 2,163 females were sworn in by the Chief Judge of Rivers State, who was represented by Justice Godspower Aguma.

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Fubara: Nigeria Needs God-fearing Leaders To Make Progress …Applauds Seventh Day Adventist

Published

1 month ago

July 3, 2026

The Tide

Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, says Nigeria needs God-fearing leaders for the nation to move in the right direction and make meaningful progress.

The Governor stated this yesterday when he received in audience, the World President of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pastor Erton Kohler; his wife, Andriene Marques Kohler; daughter Mariana Marques Kohler and a retinue of ministers of the church at Government House, Port Harcourt.

Fubara who hailed the Seventh Day Adventist Church for its contributions to education and the grooming of future leaders in Nigeria, expressed delight that the Church had over the years, been investing in education at various levels and currently runs two universities in the country.

He commended the church for not only using its institutions to spread the gospel of Christianity but to groom future leaders for the country.

According to him, religion should not be just about defending one’s faith, but also making meaningful impact on the lives of the people.

He said that by floating these educational institutions, the church has demonstrated capacity to support Nigeria in the task of producing not only educated people but a breed of God-fearing leaders.

“Our country is where it is today because we lack the fear of God. If you have the fear of God, there should be a limit to what you can do because you understand the supremacy of God. But when God is not in your equation, you’ll go beyond the line and that is what has brought us to where we are today.

“So, I feel very happy that you are contributing to the development of our future leaders in this country. We need the right people being in the right place; prepared properly with good minds; that is what we need, not just in Nigeria but round the whole world.,” he said.

Governor Fubara further observed that the absence of God-fearing people in high places to take the right decisions that could impact positively on the society, has also given rise to other problems such as social inequality, poverty, corruption and criminality. According to him, Nigeria needs a system where the average parent could afford quality education for their children and a guarantee that upon graduation, the average child will have the capacity to compete favourably with anybody, anywhere in the world.

“If we have a situation where the little money that you’re being paid as wage can also afford you quality healthcare and after working at least for 15-20 years, you have a roof over your head, tell me why you should be involved in any kind of crime? At that point, you’ll feel secured and this attitude of insecurity about the future that leads to all the social vices we have today won’t be there,” he said.

Governor Fubara expressed appreciation to the delegation for the visit and for their prayers for Rivers State, assuring them of his continued support for their programmes in the state.

Leader of the delegation and World President of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pastor Erton Kohler said he was in Nigeria for a special conference of the church during which thousands of the church’s ministers will be undergoing an empowerment programme to further equip them for the task of herding their flocks and serving the society.

He expressed gratitude to the Governor for the warm reception accorded his entourage, saying the memory of the visit will linger in his mind for a lifetime.

Kohler disclosed that the Church has over twenty -four million (24,000,000) members and more than 182,000 places of worship, spread across 212 countries of the world.

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Rivers Assembly Approves Fubara’s 2026–2028 MTEF

Published

2 months ago

June 29, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State House of Assembly has approved the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) submitted by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

This reaffirms the lawmakers’ commitment to enacting laws and taking legislative actions geared towards the overall development of the State.

The Assembly gave the approval during its Second Legislative Sitting of the Fourth Session held last Friday.

Speaking on the MTEF document during plenary, the House Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, noted that by the provision of Section 10(1)(b) of the Rivers State Fiscal Responsibility Law No. 8 of 2010, the MTEF ought to have been laid before the House in September 2025.

Amaewhule explained that traditionally, the document is expected to be presented four months before the commencement of the next financial year and immediately after the expiration of every three-year fiscal cycle.

He, however, stated that in the interest of the State and its people, the House considered it necessary to deliberate on the document, describing it as a precursor to the 2026 Budget Estimates.

The Speaker expressed concern that the year had already progressed significantly before the presentation of the framework.

During deliberations on the document, members examined the assumptions and projections contained in the MTEF and observed that strict adherence to the outlined fiscal parameters would ultimately serve the interest of Rivers people.

The lawmakers maintained that effective implementation of the framework would promote prudent financial management and enhance developmental planning across the State.

Following the debate and positive consideration by members, the Speaker put the question to the House and members voted overwhelmingly in support of the approval of the MTEF.

Meanwhile, during the same sitting last Friday, the House also received a petition from the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Dr. Gift Worlu.

The petition was presented by the member representing Obio/Akpor Constituency II, Hon. Emilia Amadi.

According to the petition, concerns were raised over an imminent security breach, threats to lives, destruction of property and alleged forceful takeover of property by some lawless persons within parts of the Local Government Area.

Presenting the petition before the House, Hon. Amadi appealed to the lawmakers to revisit the matter and take necessary steps aimed at safeguarding lives and property in the affected communities.

The House is expected to further deliberate on the petition and consider measures to address the concerns raised in order to sustain peace and security in the area.

King Onunwor