The National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Bolaji Abdullahi, has questioned whether the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has the appropriate educational background to oversee Nigeria’s economic policies.
Abdullahi stated this on Monday during his interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today programme, while discussing the Federal Government’s economic policies, particularly its approach to subsidy.
Oyedele had previously served as the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms. He was later appointed Minister of State for Finance before being appointed to his current role.
Although he acknowledged Oyedele’s intelligence and competence, the ADC official argued that managing an economy requires specialised training and expertise.
He said, “I’m not saying he’s incompetent, but I think he doesn’t have the right education.
“Because, look, the issue of subsidy is ideological, and we have to understand where you are coming from. I mean, I’m talking about an economy, this Nigerian economy.
“No, I’m not going personal. Like I said, I have utmost respect for him. And I think he’s quite a smart guy. I’m not taking that away from him,” he said.
“But what I’m saying is that the way an accountant reviews an economy is not the same way an economist reviews it. And the same way a classical economist would look at it is not the way a development economist would look at it.”
“We need people who are trained to do this job to do it,” Abdullahi added.
Oyedele attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy and Finance, before proceeding to Oxford Brookes University for a BSc in Applied Accounting.
He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.
Oyedele spent 22 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader before his appointment to head the tax reform committee.
PUNCH Online reports that the Federal Government had announced a 30-day discount on petrol sold by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, with public transport operators to receive priority under the arrangement, according to a disclosure made by Oyedele last Thursday.
Oyedele said the measure was designed as a margin discount at NNPC stations and was not a return to petrol subsidy.
However, the policy has received a backlash from various quarters, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Obidient Movement, the Nigeria Democratic Congress and the presidential campaign organisation of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who rejected the FG’s proposed 30-day petrol discount, describing the intervention as inadequate and politically motivated.