Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu's administration for poor implementation of  elimination of subsidies on petroleum items and the floating currency.

This comes as the former President has called for a 25-year plan agenda to help the country overcome its many issues.

Obasanjo said that though the policies were necessary but were however wrongly implemented.

The ex-president said this in a speech delivered at the Paul Aje Colloquium in Abuja at the weekend.

According to a statement made available to journalists on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo condemned the country’s position in dealing with the coup in the Republic of Niger.

Obasanjo did also not spare those who are against his position on the much-touted refurbished refinery at Port Harcourt, Rivers State, describing them as “sycophants and spin doctors”.

He declared that such people failed to remember that the attempt that was made in 2007 to partly privatise the refineries was made after a thorough study of the situation, hence his knowledge and a better understanding of the situation before making his decision late last year.

The former president also recommended ways out of the situation in the country, including a 25-year development agenda.

“Today, the government has taken three decisions, two of which are necessary but wrongly implemented and have led to the impoverisation of the economy and of Nigerians. These are the removal of subsidy, closing the gap between the black market and official rates of exchange and the third is dealing with the military coup in Niger Republic.

“The way forward is production and productivity which belief and trust in government leadership will engender. No shortcut to economic progress but hard work and sweat.”

He added, “The economy does not obey orders, not even military orders. I know that. If we get it right, in two years, we will begin to see the light beyond the tunnel. It requires a change of characteristics, attributes, and attitudes by the leadership at all levels to gain the
confidence and trust of investors who have alternatives.

“Total Energy has gone to invest 6 billion dollars in Angola instead of Nigeria. If the truth must be stated, the present administration has not found the right way to handle the economy to engender confidence and trust for investors to start trooping in.

“They know us more than we know ourselves. And now they are laughing at us, not taking us seriously. We have to present ourselves in such a way that we will be taken seriously. If the existing investors are disinvesting and going out of our country, how do we persuade new investors to rush in?

“We can be serious if we choose to be but we need to change from transactional leadership in government to transformational and genuine servant leadership.

“With change by us, the investors will give us the benefit of the doubt, and security is taken care of on a sustainable long-term basis, they will start to test the water. With the right economic policies, attribute of integrity, and honesty of purpose, all should be well with all hands on deck and the government should become a catalyst for development, growth, and progress.

On the economy, Obasanjo said, “Tinkering with the exchange rate is not the answer. The answer is consistency and continuity in policy to ensure stability and predictability. That way, we will be sure to incentivize domestic and foreign investment.

“There must be honesty and transparency in government dealings and contracts and not lying with deception about these issues. When government is seen as pursuing the right policy, the private sector will go for production and productivity. Change is possible but it must begin with the leadership”.

https://platinumtimes.ng/your-govt-yet-to-find-formula-to-redeem-nigeria-from-economy-woos-obasanjo-knocks-tinubu/

Make God help us sha

Ebola Tinubu is a monumental failure.

They have no formula

No blueprint

He said not selling again he'll wait till the lists it when nigeria is on open mainnet

Obasanjo had 8 years and it was always about "tightening the belt" for him. Labour had to shut down the whole country for a week to protest his senseless policies so he better allow Jagaban to do his own reforms that are sensible and even his defeated co-contestants said they would have embarked on. President Tinubu is just a year in office, with 7 more to go so Obasanjo should exercise patience together with his desperate stooge, the failed third class fraudster he tried to impose on Nigerians.

Tinubu's government is obviously a transactional one. Hence he cannot point to a single project since the fraudulent emergence. Ordinary student loan. He cannot get it right because he knew nothing about good governance. In his head, good governance is about sharing rice and packages to people after impoverishing them, then tax the hell out of those with purchasing power. The moment he said Na statistics we go shop. I knew Nigeria is gone if he emerges. And here we are.

Tinubu has no formula for fixing anything in Nigeria but formula for white elephant projects through which he would loot and syphon the treasury.

BATerians will leave Obasanjo and start attacking Obi.

We have vision 2010 and 2020 under him but none was achieved.

The funds budgeted for those MDGs were siphoned, yet, he’s here criticizing.

Why are failures best critics in this part of the world?

shortgun:
When Tinubu said na "statistics we go chop" I knew immediately he was a packaged catastrophe who is not educated enough to understand the importance of strategic planning and the underlying set of principles by which it is practiced in a modern society

Take a minute to imagine a supposedly accountant who does not know the relevance of statistics. Think of it. Let it sink in: an accountant, "a Chicago State University first class graduate" does not know the importance of statistics.

Abi na
Man is darn clueless after all the hype

65 SAs, 48 Ministers 2 hangers-on kids and yet not one solution to the issues his party brought in the economy.

Instead, it's about sharing the national cake to friends and cronies while some daft fools go about singing mandate like street urchins.

Now man is dissociating himself from any silly mandate and his urchins are confused

APC is a locust on the land!!

I told one of his Zombies before.

Quit blaming the system.

If you like go back to regionalism. If you have dishonest and insincere leaders at the helm, the result will be the same.

It's not the system but the operator who are the problem.

Change must begin with the leadership!!

It is well with our country and APC led government

1st class olodo and his trial by error formula