David-west To Okonjo-iweala: Buhari Doesn’t Need Your Advice

A former Minister of Petroleum, Prof. Tam
David-West, has replied the Minister of
Finance and coordinating minister of the
economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, over
her advice on how the incoming
administration of Gen Muhammadu Buhari
can increase revenue, saying the new
president does not need her expertise.
David-West, who spoke to our reporter in
Ibadan, the Oyo State capital Friday, said
Buhari is highly experienced in the art of
governance, stressing that he knows what
to do to manage the economy well.
He said that while Okonjo-Iweala supervises
a Nigerian economy where a United States
(US) dollar exchanges for N190, Buhari,
during his days as the Head of State,
supervised an economy where N1
exchanged for US$1.5.
His words: “I read Okonjo-Iweala’s advice
to Gen. Buhari on how to raise revenue
with interest and amusement. I don’t think
that Buhari needs any advice from her on
the subject. He is not new on the terrain. He
is a very knowledgeable person on how to
move the economy forward. I don’t believe
he needs advice from Okonjo-Iweala.
“When Buhari was in charge, oil was $30
per barrel. It even went down to $15 per
barrel. Yet, he managed the economy very
well. Oil price is now double that price and
they are complaining that oil price has fallen.
“Buhari can manage the economy better
than Okonjo-Iweala. He never took
International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan
neither did he flirt with IMF. He refused to
devalue the Naira in spite of the problem the
country was facing from different areas. $
1.5 exchanged for N1. But during Okonjo-
Iweala’s time, it is N190 to $1.
“Finally, it was N2 to £1. During Okonjo-
Iweala’s time, it is N240 to £1. Buhari did not
import fuel; he was exporting whereas
Okonjo-Iweala imports fuel with bogus
subsidy running to trillions of Naira. And
she has not been able to arrest anyone
involved in subsidy scam let alone get a
refund from any of them.
“Nigeria is the only country in the world
where Okonjo-Iweala is the Finance Minister
and coordinating the economy where
provision is made for fraud in the annual
budget by way of subsidy. So, Buhari does
not need her advice.”