In a heated exchange of opinions, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, engaged in a blame game regarding the state of the nation’s economy under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Moghalu took to Twitter to assert that Nigeria’s economic decline over the past 40 years was momentarily halted during the administrations of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as the subsequent PDP-led governments of Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan. However, he criticized the economic management from 2015 till date, describing it as “completely incompetent.”
He called for the Federal Government to establish a genuine foundation for long-term economic transformation, highlighting the inadequacy of palliatives in addressing poverty and wealth distribution.
In response, Ajayi, an aide to President Bola Tinubu, acknowledged some economic reforms during the Obasanjo-led administration but questioned the claim of it being a “golden era of competence.” She criticized Moghalu and former CBN Governor Sanusi for their inability to account for the missing $20 billion in oil revenue during their tenure.
Ajayi argued that the period till 2015 witnessed trillions of unpaid salary and pension arrears, along with massive corruption. She contended that since 2015, the APC government initiated key reforms, including the payment of owed salaries and pensions, substantial investments in economic infrastructure, and the reconstruction of thousands of kilometers of roads across the country.
The presidential aide lamented the decline in Nigeria’s foreign reserves and the Excess Crude Account during the period Moghalu served in government, despite the high crude oil prices.
The exchange between Ajayi and Moghalu reflects the ongoing debate on the economic trajectory of Nigeria, with each side presenting contrasting perspectives on the effectiveness of various administrations in managing the nation’s finances.