Beta Edu: Group urges Tinubu not to bow to pressure, sake of transparency
..says corruption is disincentive to foreign investment
By Tom Okpe
A group, Independent Media and Policy Initiative, (IMPI) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act accordingly and not, bow to pressure as regards the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Beta Edu, less than 6 months as Minister, in the spirit of transparency.
Edu was suspended by President Tinubu, ordering investigations over corruption allegations in the Ministry.
The IMPI also said actionable ‘Policy on Corruption’ must be taken as corruption is disincentive to foreign investors.
The group also, scored President Tinubu high in delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda,’ despite enormous institutional, economic headwinds and domestic challenges to contend with.
It noted that from the conceptualisation and deployment of policies across multifarious sectors by the federal government, it’s convinced that; “President Tinubu is putting in place, new building blocks to serve as the bedrock of a new model for national economic growth and socio-political development.”
Speaking at a World Press Conference in Abuja on Tuesday, on performance analyses of President Tinubu’s eight months in office, Niyi Akinsuji, Chairman, IMPI said: “The most significant policy position in all these, will be one that broadly and dimensionally addressed corruption in the country.
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“Corruption is a disincentive to foreign investment especially of the kind we are so desirous to have in Nigeria at this time.
“However, we take notice of the President’s swift response to corruption allegations against a member of his cabinet, Dr Betta Edu, by suspending and ordering her investigation.
“Without prejudice to the outcome of the ongoing investigation, we urge the President not to bow to pressure, but ensure that the report of that investigation and those of other government officials under investigation be made public in the spirit of transparency.
“This will go a long way to sending clear signals to local and international audiences about the Tinubu administration’s seriousness to tackle the scourge of corruption as recently observed by the United State’s Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to Nigeria.”
He further stressed that as independent stakeholders and body of analysts, to appraise the administration of President Tinubu, since his ascension to the Presidency on May 29th, 2023, “we have painstakingly studied and analyzed the prevailing situation in the country over the last eight months and we are glad to inform Nigerians of our findings.”
Akinauji said the President acknowledged that the fuel subsidy regime was an albatross on the nation’s economy with debilitating impact on its sustainability and by extension, a threat to quality of life of the generality of Nigerians, hence, the removal.
“While taking cognizance of associated economic challenges that households are grappling with, it is our considered opinion that the decision by the President to announce the removal of fuel subsidy is not only courageous but commendable.
“More important, it was a measure to eliminate the long standing subsidy related corruption perpetrated by the cartel of the subsidy regime.
“From a policy impact point of view, the measure triggered immediate positive outturn on Premium Motor Spirit, (PMS) otherwise, known as petrol, consumption and related revenue earnings compared to the pre-subsidy removal regime.”
He maintained that about a month after the announcement of the removal of fuel subsidy, national daily fuel consumption fell dramatically from an unexplainable 66.7 million litres a day as of May 2023 to 45 million litres.
“The consumption size has further reduced and now stabilised at 43.3 million litres a day.
“This steep reduction has led to a quantum leap in total gross revenue, going into the federation account and subsequent FAAC allocation to the three tiers of government from N786.161bn in May 2023 to a high rate of N1.1trn in August because the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL) was no longer resorting to its famed under-recovery.
“For the first time in the history of FAAC, the Federal Government of Nigeria started cultivating the culture of savings from revenue accruals, beginning from the over N700bn that was saved in July 2023, when the FAAC received the sum of N1.959 trillion.
“This has marked a turning point in Federation accruals and revenue generation with implications for budget performance.”
The group listed transportation and other interventions including wage awards to workers, to ameliorate impact of subsidy withdrawal.
“A more profound measure in this regard is the activation of the long dormant National Gas Master Plan which effectively, provides momentum for the commercial use of natural and liquefied gas.
“By our reading of the President’s plan, as being implemented in the sector, four Compressed Natural Gas-based vehicle assembly plants are already being built in the country, which will, in the first instance, produce 750 buses and thousands of tricycles, while 100 electric buses are on their way into the country to consolidate the Tinubu Transport Palliative Intervention.
“The multiplier effect of all these, will include technology adaptation, cheaper transport, job creation, enablement of commercial utilisation of natural gas and an environment-friendly energy use regime.”
The group listed other achievements of the Tinubu regime to include, the popular Abuja – Kaduna and Lagos – Ibadan rail, standard gauge routes, laying of tracks, Port Harcourt-Abia axis of the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri strategic narrow rail route, and the Lagos-Kano narrow gauge express service routes.
Others, according to the group are concerns over food inflation and its remedies, domestication of pharmaceutical production products, resolving perennial conflicts in tertiary institutions, non-kinetic intervention in fighting insecurity, guaranteed completion of roads and other infrastructure, forex resolution game plan and many others.
