• Economy stands still
•No vacuum in governance, says Presidency
Excuses from the Villa are grating, even to the ears of President Muhammadu Buhari’s supporters, not to talk of critics, all of whom had expected him to get cracking from the start but now hear of hiccups and feeble explanation for the non composition of the cabinet.
Investors in the economy hedge; core functions in ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) are stalled; and the knock-downs and drag-outs in the National Assembly (NASS) over principal officers covey confusion.
On April 29, while inaugurating his 19-member transition committee for a smooth handover of power, Buhari (then President-elect), asked the committee to suggest “quick fixes” which would result in tangible, visible and practical measures so that change would be seen after 30 days, after 100 days, and after six months of him taking office.
But on June 22, he moaned that using 100 days in office as a milestone mounts pressure on his government, especially as he inherited an empty treasury.
Pundits riposted that he knew he would not meet a robust treasury.
Buhari knew what to expect
In the twilight of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, announced that the government borrowed about N473 billion to pay salaries and fund the 2015 budget.
On May 20, then Vice President-elect, Yemi Osinbajo, acknowledged that the incoming administration would inherit local and international debts amounting to $60 billion.
“Our debt servicing bill for 2015 is N953.6 billion, 21 per cent of our budget. On account of severely dwindled resources, over two-thirds of the states in Nigeria owe salaries.
“Federal institutions are not in much better shape. Today, the nation borrows to fund recurrent expenditure,” he said.
Foot dragging
Buhari’s lamentation about an empty treasury and his request for time to perform are beginning to negate his public goodwill.
“These excuses are intolerable. People voted Jonathan out because he had destroyed the system.
“We did not vote Buhari to remind us of what Jonathan did wrong. He should get started, although I welcome his decision to recover stolen money.
“But he has no cabinet, no functional decision-making bureaucracy, especially the office of the secretary to the government of the federation. How can he achieve these things within the shortest possible time when he continues to foot drag on critical appointments?” queried Yahaya Ibrahim, a lawyer.
Sociologist and internet security consultant, Abasi Ekpe-Juda, also took a swipe at Buhari’s excuses.
“Let’s wait and see when he begins to recover the stolen money then we will know if the treasury was empty or not. But by the way, did Jonathan not say through his coordinating minister that they borrowed money to pay salaries?
“If they had money in the treasury would they have borrowed to pay salaries? Even at that, some federal government agencies are still owing salaries as we speak! Of a fact, nobody who has money will borrow to meet any obligation,” Ekpe-Juda said.
What has age got to do with it?
There was also the age factor Buhari mentioned when he visited South Africa, which his critics have latched on to, saying he could have stayed away from the election if he knew his age was a problem.
Buhari said: “How I wish I became Head of State when I was a Governor or just a few years after, then as a young man. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do alone. But what brought me here I think mainly is because I love this country.”
In the build up to the election, former Petroleum Minister, Tam David-West, a staunch loyalist of Buhari, had dismissed any suggestion that his age could affect his performance in office.
He told TheNiche that “Buhari is very young to contest the election. He is just 72. The president of Liberia is older than Buhari. And Tunisia has just elected a president who is 88 years old, 16 years older than Buhari; and that person defeated a 68-year-old.
“Zik was 75 years when he contested for the president of Nigeria in 1979. Awolowo was 70 years old when he contested for the presidency in 1979. Robert Mugabe is 90 years old and going to be in office in the next six years.
“They (those questioning Buhari’s age) are very, very lazy. They just talk. They are empty gas, no content.”
Gloss on a gaffe
Putting a gloss on the gaffe, Buhari’s Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, said his comment was not an admission that he was too old to cope with the demands of his office, rather he is like “an old wine that has got tastier.”
Buhari’s inability to appoint critical aides, including cabinet ministers, chief of staff, secretary to the government of the federation, leaves the country running on auto pilot.
The Senate gave approval for him to appoint the 15 aides he requested, but more than 30 days later, he has only appointed three: Adesina; Garba Shehu (Senior Special Assistant, Media); and Abdullahi Kazaure (State Chief of Protocol).
This has created a vacuum for the policy direction of the government. In the absence of any, civil servants and appointed officials fill the void.
NASS fracas fuels stalemate in governance
The confusion in the NASS has also not helped governance. After its inauguration on June 9, both the Senate and House of Representatives sat only twice and have gone on recess till July 21.
Although the Senate could be recalled to screen and approve Buhari’s ministers, the rift in the All Progressives Congress (APC) makes that difficult. This is because both Chambers have yet to fully constitute their principal officers, a major factor for lawmaking.
The Senate has filled the posts of majority leader, deputy majority leader, and deputy chief whip; but has left out the chief whip zoned to the South West, likely because of sentiment of APC stalwart, Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu wields enormous influence in the South West and lawmakers in the zone may be reading his body language before making any move.
In the House of Representatives, the problem over the selection of principal officers is worse, leading to a brawl on Thursday, June 25.
Buhari has pledged neutrality in the affairs of the NASS since it is an independent arm of government. But those currently with the levers of power in the APC do not see it that way. They want to determine who gets what.
The confusion adds to the stalemate in governance.
“This government does not reckon with time. Buhari won election on March 28, more than 90 days ago, enough time to put some concrete measures on the ground. This government thinks it has all the time,” Ibrahim said.
Buhari’s decision to move the military command centre to Borno, the epicentre of Boko Haram’s insurrection, is seen as a commendable step, plus his diplomatic shuttles to the G7 summit in Germany, the African Union (AU) summit in South Africa, and the tour of Chad and Niger where he canvassed support to rout the terrorists.
He is, however, expected to quit the suspense game and rejig the service chiefs, just as he has done with the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PCN) President, Olumide Akintayo, said the dissolution of the NNPC board is a step in the right direction.
He argued that if the government is going to restructure the economy, it has to start from source, a parastatal like the NNPC where a significant percentage of revenue is not properly accounted for.
Economy in limbo
“You don’t make investment in a vacuum. You look at certain parameters; the political environment, the economic environment and some other factors … investors are waiting for a policy direction from the government before they can make well-informed investment decisions.”
These are the words of Sewa Wusu, the Head of Research and Investment Advisory at Sterling Capital, who alerted Abuja about the investor apathy in the financial markets resulting in significant losses.
Data released on June 18 by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that the capital market depreciated by N238 billion or 2.07 per cent three weeks after inauguration of Buhari.
Naira woes
The money market is not spared as the naira, which strengthened at about N180 to the dollar in the week after Buhari’s electoral victory, closed at N199.40 on the interbank market on Thursday, June 25.
This is N2.50 above the N196.90 to the dollar designed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
At the parallel market, the naira tumbled deeper against the dollar from N222 on June 24 to N225 on June 25.
Analysts and key players in the banking sector insisted that there is an urgent need for further devaluation of the naira to reflect its true value and situation of the economy.
Chief executive officers (CEOs) of banks added their voice to the call on June 25 as they raised the alarm over “disappearing” flow of funds into the banking sector.
They spoke at a CEOs’ roundtable organised by the NSE in conjunction with Bloomberg, and urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to find ways to restore liquidity to the foreign exchange (forex) market.
Financial analysts attributed the dip in the naira partly to the failure of Buhari to constitute his cabinet, especially his economic team, and provide policy direction.
According to them, this uncertainty in economic policy makes foreign investors to cut down on investment.
Investors hold back
“Most investors are on the sidelines now as far as investment is concerned; whether in equities or fixed income, because they are waiting for a policy direction from the government before they can make well-informed investment decisions,” Wusu stressed.
He said investors are holding back to see how things unfold as their initial expectation was that Buhari would roll out his programme on assumption of office.
Nigeria’s capital market is dominated by foreign investors who withdrew more than N1 trillion in 2014 and another N234.84 billion between January and April 30 this year. The market has depreciated by over N300 billion since May.
A financial expert at WSTC Financial Services, Olutola Oni, explained that at first, the hope of investors was bouyant after a peaceful election, but weeks after Buhari’s inauguration his failure to assemble a cabinet has affected the investment community.
His words: “When the elections were conducted peacefully and the transition was peaceful, people expected that the incoming government would consolidate on that, roll out the list of those that would form the new government and make one or two policy statements.
“But up till now, apart from the fact that the government moved the military command centre to Borno State, no other policy statement has been made, not even as regards the fuel crisis.
“Everything has been virtually the same; just like nothing happened on the political scene.”
Oni said investors are concerned about the economic team Buhari will put up and its ability to handle insecurity and corruption, key parameters for investment to flourish.
EU upbeat on Nigeria’s economy
However, data published by UK World Economics showed that Nigeria’s headline economic activities shot up to 65.2 per cent this year, the highest since December 2014.
The degree of optimism in local businesses picked up to its highest levels since February 2014 while expectation for increased opportunities for sales and development was reported by the private sector despite the plunge in oil prices.
With this increased optimism in Nigeria’s economy, the European Union (EU) announced a €150 million grant for the power sector.
Announcing the grant in Abuja on June 25, EU delegation leader, Peter Cameron, told Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Executive Chairman, Sam Amadi, that the EU is exploring ways to help the country’s power supply problem.
Shehu denies vacuum in governance
When TheNiche sent an email to Shehu about the concerns, he replied, saying: “It is amazing for anyone to say the government has no policy direction. We published a party manifesto and it is still there online. Nigerians voted for this government on the basis of promises it made through documents like the manifesto and policy pronouncements.
“This government will secure the nation and govern the country well. We will fight corruption and reduce unemployment. Just to give an idea of what Buhari will do. Ministers will come.
“Before they do, it is a mistake to assume that we have a vacuum in the governance of the country. Permanent secretaries are filling in for ministers in the time being.
“But to ask you a question: Do you think the National Assembly is ready for the president’s list? Mark you, they just embarked on a four-week adjournment.
“Ministers’ list will be sent when the president is ready and the Senate fully ready in its committees as well.”
