'HE DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT EDUCATION' BOLAJI ABDULLAHI TELLS TAIWO OYEDELE'S

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Bolaji Abdullahi, who speaks for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said that Taiwo Oyedele, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, might not have the proper education to handle Nigeria’s economy.

Abdullahi made this comment on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, discussing the federal government‘s 30-day plan to lower fuel prices.

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,” he said.

“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 said 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,” 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.”

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 becoming the minister of state for finance, Oyedele worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for 22 years.He became the first fiscal policy partner and leader of tax services in Africa for the company.

Last Thursday, Oyedele shared that the federal government would give a 30-day discount on petrol sold at filling stations owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

He explained that transporters would get priority in getting the discounted petrol. He also said this was not a subsidy, but rather a way for the government to sell petrol at its actual cost.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar criticized President Bola Tinubu for supporting the petrol subsidy plan but only offering it as 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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