By Ayodele Oni
The Federal Government’s 30-day fuel price reduction initiative has continued to attract comments, especially from the opposition figures thay have described the initiative as a return to subsidy regime.
Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesperson for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in his reaction, stated that Taiwo Oyedele, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, may not have the right educational background to manage Nigeria’s economy.
Abdullahi spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, while commenting on the federal government’s 30-day fuel price reduction initiative.
He said subsidy policies were ideological and that economic decisions should be guided by the right expertise.
“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.
Abdullahi remarked that he was not attacking Oyedele personally, adding that he respected him and considered him intelligent.
“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.
“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.”
Oyedele holds a higher national diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance from Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) and bachelor’s degree in applied accounting at the Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom (UK).
He completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, Gordon Institute of Business Science and Harvard Kennedy School.
Before his appointment as minister of state for finance, Oyedele spent 22 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he rose to become the firm’s first fiscal policy partner and Africa tax leader.
Oyedele announced last Thursday that the federal government would offer a 30-day discount on petrol sold at filling stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
The minister said transporters would receive priority, adding that the measure was not a subsidy but an arrangement for the government to sell petrol at cost.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar accused President Bola Tinubu of adopting petrol subsidy proposal but limiting the measure to a 30-day discount.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, said Tinubu had previously described him as ignorant of economic policy when he proposed targeted support to reduce fuel costs.
Atiku added that the Tinubu administration had dismissed his proposal as unworkable.
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