Buhari’s govt lacks policy direction – Ex-Planning Minister

Former Minister of National Planning and Deputy Chairman, National Planning Commission (NPC), Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, says the Muhammadu Buhari administration only reels out policy statements but lacks policy direction. Speaking with our correspondent in Lagos yesterday, Sulaiman noted that the nation’s economy under Buhari had not improved, warning that if nothing urgent was done to check the drift, unemployment and hunger might increase.

He said the 100 days of the Buhari government had been particularly woeful, marred by policy summersaults without concrete steps being taken to stabilize the economy, saying this was evident in the number of investors that had left the country and the down-sizing in the banking industry.

He said the Treasury Single Account introduced by Buhari could particularly undermine the economy and propel the collapse of the banking industry, pointing out that the policy was the brain child of the Jonathan administration which was meant to be implemented in phases, but the present government’s insistence on full implementation portends danger for the economy.

Sulaiman, a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Abuja, observed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) came to power with the promise to tackle corruption, insurgency and youth unemployment, but none of these has been achieved, yet, the president continues to make statements that tend to “de-market” Nigeria in an effort to discredit the Jonathan administration.