Ezekwesili reacts as Buhari dissolves Osinbajo-led economic team

Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of education has reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of a new economic team.

Buhari, on Monday, constituted an Economic Advisory Council (EAC), dissolving the previous led by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

The Presidency had said that the new team is made up of the following: Prof. Doyin Salami – Chairman; Dr. Mohammed Sagagi – Vice-Chairman; Prof. Ode Ojowu – Member; Dr. Shehu Yahaya – Member; Dr. Iyabo Masha – Member; Prof. Chukwuma Soludo – Member; Mr. Bismark Rewane – Member; Dr. Mohammed Adaya Salisu – Secretary (Senior Special Assistant to the President, Development Policy).

Reacting, Ezekwesili, on Tuesday commending Buhari on the appointment, urged the newly constituted Economic team to make it a priority to tell President Muhammadu Buhari, how he has allegedly mismanaged the economy.

Speaking on her verified Twitter handle, Ezekwesili claimed that the Economic Advisory Council system was copied from the American presidential system.

Ezekwesili wrote, “The setting up a Council of Economic Advisors is in itself one of the features of the American Presidential system which we copied.

“Strong membership and that’s really great. I hope the first thing they do is tell the President how he mismanaged the economy in the last 4 years.

“For those who will jump on this timeline to say, ‘It was not the President that was in charge of the economy. It was the VP chairing the Economic Team’ please don’t bother.

“The President was managing the economy. All those bad monetary policy decisions were made by him.

“Two, the President was managing the economy. All those strange fiscal policy decisions were made by him. Both the CBN Governor and the Ministers of Finance were not acting based on any Economic Management Team decisions. For WIA. Now at least the pretence is over about economy.

“The EMT was in reality chaired by the VP who had no power over core economic policy decisions. The other side of the Presidency did not mind having him be the cannon fodder for all the extremely bad economic policy decisions.

“A President, not VP runs the economy. I know that.”