Four months after their inauguration, President Muhammadu Buhari will today meet members of his economic team amid a myriad of economic challenges. Among other issues, the recent economic decisions by the government, particularly the border closure policy and implementation of the Finance Act 2020 as it relates to the hike of the Value Added Tax (VAT) to 7.5% continue to take a huge toll on the citizenry.

Sources said this would be the first time the president will be meeting the members since their inauguration, heightening speculations that the members have not achieved much thus far. The members replaced the Economic Management Team headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Daily Trust reports that the president had on October 9, 2019, inaugurated the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) led by Prof. Doyin Salami. Dr Mohammed Sagagi is the vice chairman of the economic council while the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Development Policy, Dr Mohammed Salisu, is the secretary.

Other members of the 8-man council include former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Soludo; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr Bismark Rewane; Prof. Ode Ojowu, Dr Shehu Yahaya, and Dr Iyabo Masha. The key issue Nigerians believe should pre-occupy the president’s mind today is how the team could frontally tackle the lingering challenges in the economy. Former Chief Executive Officer of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mustafa Chike-Obi, had tweeted on January 11 that, “it is now 4 months since the acclaimed Economic Advisory Council was announced by PMB.

We are yet to hear of any concrete policy directives or feel any impact from the EAC. I sincerely hope we hear from them before the 6-month timeline, so it is not seen as just another stunt.” However, Prof. Soludo confirmed to Daily Trust last night that they have been working. But when asked on the challenges facing their work, he directed one of our reporters to the chairman of the committee.

“If you want an interview on our work, better speak to the chairman of the committee,” he said. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba in a telephone interview with the Daily Trust expressed confidence in the ability of the EAC team to deliver. He explained that he was sure the team has been working behind the scenes.

donbachi:
Economic team....government wey no fit cook and manage ordinary jollof rice for school feeding..dat one na government?.how dem wan come take manage nigeria.

JosWatchDog:
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says at current numbers, the programme costs $1,767,169.48 per day and over 183million dollars has been invested so far in the programme.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Osinbajo stated this in his keynote address at the closing ceremony of the 20th Annual Global Child Nutrition Forum held at Four Seasons Hotel in Tunis, Tunisia, on Thursday.

Osibanjo was quoted as saying over 9 million pupils in 49,837 public primary schools in 26 states across Nigeria benefitted daily.

According to Osinbajo, “The programme employs 95,422 cooks, and over 100,000 smallholder farmers linked to the programme, supplying locally sourced ingredients.

“This translates to 594 cattle, 138,000 chickens, 6.8 million eggs, 83 metric tons of fish that are procured, prepared, and distributed each week. As you can imagine, the quantity of starch and vegetables required for this programme on a weekly basis is equally impressive”

www.nairaland.com/attachments/8030328_school_jpeg8a855c2c89ed6dda469c6ab5fc03cad3

Sunnycliff:
Nothing changes because Buhari won't understand any of the economic terms or principles.

We are not talking about cows, the only register he can comprehend

jarawa:


https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/tough-issues-as-buhari-meets-economic-team-today.html

jarawaw:

We are yet to hear of any concrete policy directives or feel any impact from the EAC. I sincerely hope we hear from them before the 6-month timeline, so it is not seen as just another stunt.” However, Prof. Soludo confirmed to Daily Trust last night that they have been working. But when asked on the challenges facing their work, he directed one of our reporters to the chairman of the committee.

“If you want an interview on our work, better speak to the chairman of the committee,” he said. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba in a telephone interview with the Daily Trust expressed confidence in the ability of the EAC team to deliver. He explained that he was sure the team has been working behind the scenes.