Tag Archives: soludo

Soludo, Andy Uba, Ifeanyi Ubah vie for APC ticket in Anambra.

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Charles Soludo, former CBN governor, and twelve other aspirants have indicated interest to contest for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket in the forthcoming Anambra governorship election later this year.

 

Other contestants are Andy Uba, Ifeanyi Ubah, George Muoghalu, Barth Nwibe, Obinna Okonkwo and Paul Chukwuma.

 

The rest are Chike Obidigbo, Raph Okeke, Tony Nwoye, Uche Ekwunife, Obinna Uzor and Donatus Okonkwo.

 

Emeka Ibe, chairman of the party in the state, made this known to reporters in Awka, the state capital, on Tuesday.

 

Soludo, Ifeanyi Ubah, Andy Ubah have all contested for the governorship seat in the past, either on the PDP or Labour Party platforms, but failed.

 

Ibe added that there would be no automatic ticket for any aspirant. He said they would all participate in the state’s primary before a candidate would emerge.

 

“We will give all aspirants equal playing ground. There is no special interest in any aspirant,” he said.

 

“We will hold transparent primary for them because they are all qualified to unseat Gov. Willie Obiano.

 

“Any of them who emerges as our candidate in the state is capable of removing Obiano from office.”

 

He added that the party would embark on continuous membership registration exercise before the end of the month to accommodate those who want to join in the state.

 

However, Ibe said anybody with criminal records would not be allowed to join the party in the state.

 

He maintained that there was no zoning arrangement in the party, adding that new members would have equal rights as old ones.

 

Source: The Cable

Selling National Assets Will Be A Historic Mistake – Soludo

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The federal government will be repeating mistakes of the past should it sell some of the nation’s assets as has been proposed in some quarters, Chukwuma Soludo, former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said.

Asset sale has recently emerged as one of the strategies for Nigeria’s quick exit from its current economic recession, and notable public figures have argued for and against it.

Writing on the subject on Monday, Soludo said he initially labelled the asset sale suggestion a “joke” when it first began to emerge, but when the senate and NEC joined the “convenient but flawed call”,
he decided to lend a voice to the matter.

He said that although he would ordinarily not join issues, the matter in question is “critical”, especially due to the assumption that the move would help to “build reserves and provide funds for immediate spending” and thus ensure that this recession will be the “shortest” ever.

“Part of the legacy of the oil resource curse on matters of public finance is a mindset that resorts to easy, albeit lazy approach to ‘quick fixes’ — with a gaze on the short term even when the issues are structurally long-term. So, I understand the mental framework that drives such a proposal especially given the pressures to show immediate results,” he said.

“But for the record, it is our considered view that the proposal is based on a false foundation. Our thesis is that in extreme, exceptional circumstances, sale of certain assets could be a last resort option but that Nigeria is currently not near that threshold and the institutional framework for its effective use is also not in place.

“Furthermore, we argue that any sale of assets now amounts to chasing pennies when by acts of omission or commission, we are losing pounds. Such a hasty auction of national assets can only benefit a privileged few with cash and access while jeopardizing Nigeria’s long-term economic interests. It will be a historic mistake….”

$7 Billion: I Won’t Apologise To Soludo – Falana

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A senior lawyer, Femi Falana, on Sunday said he would not apologise to former Central Bank Governor Chukwuma Soludo over his allegation that the ex-bank chief “dolled” out $7 billion government funds to bankers while he was in office.

 

Mr. Soludo has denied the allegation, saying he acted right in his dealings as Central Bank chief.

 

Mr. Falana, however, said he based his statement on facts made available by the Central Bank during Mr. Soludo’s stewardship.

 

Read Mr. Falana’s full statement below:

 

On October 3, 2006, the Central Bank of Nigeria under the management of Professor Chukwuma Soludo gave a loan of $7 billion to 14 commercial banks in Nigeria. The loan was confirmed by the Head of the CBN Corporate Affairs , Mr. Festus Odoko when he announced that “deposits worth $7 billion representing the apex bank’s share of the foreign reserves estimated at about $38 billion has been released to the consortium of bankers.” (The Guardian newspaper of 5/10/2006)

 

Barely four days later, a respected economist, Mr. Henry Boyo challenged the illegal claim that the $7 billion was a “share” of the CBN in the nation’s foreign reserves. Since the funds belong to the three tiers of Government by virtue of section 162 of the Constitution Mr. Boyo rightly stated that “the Senate and the House of Representatives would have defaulted in their constitutional duties if CBN is not invited to defend why $7 billion of our reserves should be ‘given’ to 14 banks without oversight approval.” (Vanguard newspaper of October 9, 2006).

 

Having confirmed that the banks have failed to liquidate the said $7 billion loan I have asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the illegality of the loan and recover same together with other huge funds which have been criminally diverted or withheld from the Federation Account. With respect, the denial of the $7 billion loan by Professor Soludo has supported the request for a thorough investigation of the allegations contained in my petition.

 

However, having regard to the facts and circumstances of the controversial loan, Professor Soludo may wish to direct his demand for apology to Mr. Festus Odoko!

Reported Probe Of Sanusi, Soludo Untrue– Presidency

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The Presidency has refuted social media reports that the tenures of Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II and Prof. Charles Soludo, as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governors, would soon be probed by the Federal Government.

The reports alleged that the Federal Government had concluded arrangements to probe the tenures of the two former CBN governors over their views on the state of the economy.

Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, however, in a tweeted message, said the presidency was not aware that the Emir and Soludo would be probed for offering suggestions to the president.

“The check I made today indicated that the presidency is unaware of the reported probe of Sarkin Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi 11 and Prof.Soludo

“Where did that report come from? Under our constitution which President Muhammadu Buhari swore to uphold, it is not a crime to offer suggestions,’’ he said.

Credit: dailytrust

‘Jonathan Ran CBN Like Idi-Amin’ – Soludo

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Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Charles Soludo, has said former President Goodluck Jonathan ran the apex bank like the former Uganda dictator, Idi-Amin. Speaking in an interview in the current Business Edition of The Interview, Soludo described the recent revelations from the arms deal scandal as startling. He said the Central bank under the last administration was “the ATM of the Presidency,”.

“Imagine a scenario where a president can order the CBN to create an intervention fund for national stability and CBN literally ‘prints’ say, N3 trillion, and doles it out cash to the Presidency to prosecute an election campaign or for just about anything he fancies. It
is a scary thought. We are going down a dangerous path that ruins the economy. I don’t know any other country where such is tolerated, except perhaps what I watched in a movie about Idi Amin and his governor of central bank.”

I Am Unavailable To Buhari’s Govt Now- Soludo

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It has been difficult tracking Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo (former Governor of the Central Bank) since his bombshells before the general elections, but finally we tracked him down in his private library at his residence in Abuja on Friday, 5th June, 2015. He seemed unwilling to say much, at least for now.  But it was still vintage Soludo, and some of the issues he raised are explosive.

He sees hope and opportunities for the new Government, even though he says his current engagements will not allow him to join the government on a full time basis, contrary to wide speculations. He says he can however freely offer advice to the government if needed.

Soludo says: Nigeria needs a Job Manifesto, and that solid minerals and agriculture can’t be relied upon for job creation; Argues that a sustainable change will not occur without a new constitution; says the clamour for zoning and sharing of public offices is an elite power game which has little to do with the masses and therefore misplaced; believes the argument for local government autonomy is anti-federalism; is waiting for the action plan from the new government before joining the debate on the agenda;  says his public spat with Okonjo-Iweala was unfortunate; raises questions about the proposal by CBN governor on selling government equity stakes in oil for immediate revenue as well as the new NBS data on unemployment; etc.

Read More: vanguardngr

Tinubu At War With Obasanjo For Nominating Soludo To Buhari As Finance Minister

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Internal politicking over the formation of the cabinet of president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, has started in earnest.

Although, some individuals have been penciled down for certain offices, selection of those to fill the coveted “juicy” positions may not be an easy task as powerful party members and others who gave Buhari support from outside the APC are pushing one or two nominees they believe can do a good job.

DAILY POST on Monday gathered that former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo may have been presented by former president Olusegun Obasanjo as the possible Minister of Finance for the Buhari administration.

Soludo was a member of the economic team for the Obasanjo administration prior to becoming the governor of the CBN.

Soludo’s presentation to the incoming administration as candidate for Minister of Finance is reportedly causing disquiet within the inner circles of the party, 247ureports said.

Many APC chieftains are said to be against his candidature on two grounds. One is that Soludo remains a card carrying member of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and his appointment would been as taking from Peter to pay Paul.

The other is that it was under Soludo that the banking sector almost collapsed, a situation confirmed by former CBN chief and Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, a staunch supporter of the APC.

It was also under Sanusi that the banking industry went through a recapitalisation process that led to the reduction in the number of banks from 50 to 25.

His clean up also witnessed the prosecution of bank Chief Executive Officers who were discovered to have robbed their own banks by almost unilaterally awarding contracts to phoney organisations and companies they either own or had substantial omnterest in.

DAILY POST gathered that former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, is strongly against Obasanjo’s recommendation.

Sources say he had in fact reached an agreement with Buhari prior to the APC presidential primaries concerning appointment into ministerial positions.

Tinubu, it was learnt, extracted an agreement from Buhari, to which the president-elect appended his signature.

According to the agreement, Tinubu will provide names for nine ministerial positions.

Some of the positions are said to include Petroleum, Finance, Works, Federal Capital Territory and Interior.

It is to this end that the camp of the party’s co-founder, Tinubu, frowns at the presentation of Soludo as Minister of Finance.

Soludo, who is keen on returning to government, is reported to have been convinced by Obasanjo to accept the position.

It is however left to be seen if Buhari will oblige Obasanjo’s request or stick to his agreement with Tinubu.

Obasanjo played a key role in Buhari’s emergence as APC presidential flagbearer and his eventual victory at the polls, thus, his words would not be discarded with a mere wave of the hand.

Soludo had been heavily critical of the economic policies of the Jonathan administration.

The most critical was in the build up to the general election where he alleged that the current adminstration mismanaged over N20 trillion of Nigeria’s money.

His criticisms, which were published in major newspapers and websites, unsettled the Jonathan administration with the Minister of Finance, Nigozi Okonjo-Iweala, taking on Soludo in more than one rejoinders.

Source – Daily Post Ng

Jonathan Missed the Point on Missing N30 trn – Soludo

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Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwumah Soludo, has faulted the response of President Goodluck Jonathan to his claim that N30 trillion was missing from the Nigerian economy.

Soludo said in a statement on Tuesday that the  article entitled: “Jonathan Replies Soludo over missing N30 trillion,” which was extracted from the president’s interview with THISDAY Newspaper did not capture the points he raised, probably because the president was too busy with election campaigns that he did not read his article.

President Jonathan as saying that “Soludo said  under Ngozi’s watch they stole N30 trillion” but that since the sum of the federal budget over the last four years was less than N30 trillion, such an amount could not have been “stolen.” Also referring to Soludo’s allegation, the President said “it is all political.”

Soludo noted that he had earlier stated that he would not make further comments on the issues until probably after the elections but that since the president has decided to join the fray, he was constrained to make a further brief clarification.

Soludo noted that he had earlier stated that he would not make further comments on the issues until probably after the elections but that since the president has decided to join the fray, he was constrained to make a further brief clarification.

Read More: news24.com.ng

Sanusi/Soludo: Where to Find the Unaccounted Billions By Omoh Gabriel

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When in late 2013, Lamido Sanusi, then Central Bank governor wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan  asserting that about $20 billion was not accounted for by NNPC, many Nigerians dismissed the claim with a wave of the hand. The Federal Government, incensed by the claim, appointed an audit firm to carry out a forensic audit of NNPC account.

The report has passed a verdict that no money was actually missing. In fact, an audit report will always come out with the fact that no money is missing. Many still do not understand the basis on which Sanusi and in more recent time, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Sanusi’s predecessor, accused the NNPC of billions of dollars leakage from the federation account.

In real terms, these figures are not found in any books nor can they be found lodged in any account. They are equally not imaginary figures. They are broad estimates of what the nation has lost as a result of the use of discretionary powers by the powers that have held the nation hostage for years.

For years now, stealing of oil from pipelines has been rampant and quantifying the amount surely is in the region of billions of dollars. But each time, the government pleads helplessness. How can a nation’s major source of revenue be allowed to be under the control of known thieves? Yet, a country that has a viable navy came out to tell the world that rogues are stealing oil. Are these thieves ghosts, and the vessels they use both invisible and invincible?

Read More: Vanguard

Jonathan Replies Soludo Over “missing N30 trillion” Claim

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President Goodluck Jonathan seized the opportunity of an interview with a Nigerian newspaper last week to hit back at a former Central Bank governor, Charles Soludo, who accused his government of failing to account for at least N30 trillion, and allowing corruption to flourish.

Mr. Jonathan dismissed Mr. Soludo’s claim as politically-motivated, and ridiculed his academic standing, saying it was illogical for that sum to be “stolen” as his government had not generated that much in all its years in power.

In an elaborate article on the state of the Nigerian economy mid-January, Mr. Soludo had tackled Nigeria’s finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, over her management style and inability to steer the nation aright amid an oil crisis.

Mr. Soludo, a first-class economist and professor, said whatever fiscal reserve Nigeria would have fallen back on during the crisis, had been badly depleted by corruption and poor management by the Okonjo-Iweala-led economic team of the Jonathan administration.

“Our public finance is haemorrhaging to the point that estimated over N30tn is missing, or stolen, or unaccounted for, or simply mismanaged,” the former CBN governor said.

Mr. Soludo said the sharp decline of the naira against the dollar was an indication of trouble for the nation.

He said his article was written for Nigerians to be informed ahead of the 2015 elections.

“Part of my frustration is that five years after, everything I warned about has come to happen and we are conducting our campaigns as if we are not in a crisis. As a concerned Nigerian, I have a duty to speak out again,” he said.

At the time, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala dismissed Mr. Soludo’s concerns as those coming from a sore political loser who wished the country ill. In a vicious tit-for-tat article, the finance minister labelled Mr. Soludo Nigeria’s worst CBN governor ever.

In his interview with Thisday newspaper last week, President Jonathan repeated some of those claims, and questioned Mr. Soludo’s scholarship.

The president made the remarks as he sought to explain widespread impression of his government as being terribly corrupt, saying such allegations are often fed by spurious claims made by notable figures like Mr. Soludo.

“So you’ll see that there is a lot of politicking about some of the serious issues. Not too long ago I read in one of the papers, I think Vanguard, that former chief economic adviser to President Obasanjo who also went to become a CBN governor… Soludo is a professor and first class material. Yes, making a first class in economics, he is a brilliant person. His secondary school records are fantastic. So by all standards he is a brilliant person. So the Vanguard wrote that he accused Ngozi; that N30 trillion was stolen under the watch of Ngozi in four years,” the president said.

“Ngozi became a finance minister, let’s say from 2011 till date. From that time till now, our annual budget is between N4.3 trillion and N4.9 trillion. So even if you put all together, it is about 18 plus trillion naira, and not 30 trillion. The budget for these four years is less than N20 trillion, but Soludo said that under Ngozi’s watch they stole N30 trillion. This is in the papers, social media, stored in the clouds and will continue to be there. And when you type it in it will come out that during President Jonathan’s time they stole N30 trillion.”

But while the president hinged his explanation on realized budget figures for Nigeria annually, Mr. Soludo, in his article, based his N30 trillion claim on funds available to the government, amounts not reconciled and what the country earn if there had been quality economic policies.

“Under you as the Minister of Finance and coordinator of the economy, the basket of our national treasury is leaking profusely from all sides. Just a few illustrations,” he wrote to the finance minister in January.

“First, you admit that ‘oil theft’ has reduced oil output from the average 2.3 – 2.4 million barrels per day to 1.95 mpd (meaning that at least 350,000 to 450,000 barrels per day are being ‘stolen’). On the average of 400,000 per day and the oil prices over the past four years, it comes to about $60bn ‘stolen’ in just four years.

“In today’s exchange rate, that is about N12.6tn. This is at a time of cessation of crisis in the Niger Delta and the amnesty programme. Can you tell Nigerians how much the amnesty programme costs, and also the annual cost for ‘protecting’ the pipelines and security of oil wells? And the ‘thieves’ are spirits?

Source – Premium times ng

The Most Important Job in Nigeria Right Now

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In most countries, the position of central bank governor is one of a conservative low-key economist who only makes public utterances a few times a year around monetary policy. Nigeria is not most countries.

 While current Central Bank of Nigeria governor Godwin Emefiele, appointed last June, fits the more traditional image, the last two Central Bank governors of Africa’s largest economy have been conservative in economic strategy—but larger than life when it comes to expressing their opinions about the way the country is run.
In the run-up to presidential elections on Feb. 14, there is an almighty war of words in local media between Nigeria’s finance minister Ngozi Okonjo Iweala and Charles Soludo, the central bank governor between 2004 and 2009. Soludo fired the first salvo with release of a local newspaper article on Jan.25 on the economy’s mismanagement under president Goodluck Jonathan. It’s a timely reminder of one of the main issues of this election cycle which has descended into name calling and smear campaigns.

My advice to President Jonathan and his handlers is to stop wasting their time trying to campaign on his job record. Those who have decided to vote for him will not do so because he has taken Nigeria to the moon. His record on the economy is a clear ‘F’ grade. As one reviews the laundry list of micro interventions the government calls its achievements, one wonders whether such list is all that the government could deliver with an unprecedented oil boom and an unprecedented public debt accumulation.

It is not often that one intervention has the effect of resetting the tone of a national conversation, especially coming from an individual that has been away from public commentary for a few years, but Soludo comes with considerable credibility, as part of an economic team that delivered strong growth at a time of lower oil prices.

 Okonjo-Iweala hit back with an 11-point attack on Facebook slamming Soludo as the worst central bank governor in Nigeria’s history.
“Soludo’s single-handed mismanagement of the banking sector led to an incredible accumulation of liabilities that will cost tax payers about N5.67 trillion (being the total face value of AMCON-issued bonds) to clean up. It is only in Nigeria where someone who perpetrated such a colossal economic atrocity would have the temerity to make assertions on public debt and the management of the economy”
Read More: qz.com

Soludo Fires Again!!! AU’s N8.6trillion Missing Under Okonjo-Iweala’s Watch

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                                                     I STAND BY MY STATEMENTS

                                                       Chukwuma Charles SOLUDO, CFR

1. My attention has been drawn to statements credited to the Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in response to my latest article and call for a structured debate on the issues. According to the report, she no longer wants to join issues with me. In the circumstance of the moment, I therefore withhold parts two and three of my promised three-part response.

2. Let me also state for the avoidance of doubt that I stand by every statement I made in the two articles viz: (1) “Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond the Elections”; and (2) “Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Missing Trillions”. In particular, I insist that over N30 trillion has either been stolen or unaccounted for, or grossly mismanaged over the last few years. This figure does not include the estimated $40.9 billion (N8.6 trillion at parallel market exchange rate or nearly two years’ Federal Government budget) which the African Union’s (AU) recent report claims to be “stolen” from Nigeria each year.

3. I wish to thank Nigerians all over the world who have been contributing to this timely debate. This is election time and it is expected that some vested interests will either choose to live in denial or attempt to politicise the issues. But from the debate so far, I am convinced that our economic management won’t be the same again. Once our managers know that the citizens will rigorously and vigorously challenge them to account, the welfare of the citizens will be better for it. Whoever wins has his job cut out for him, and to the extent that this debate has challenged the respective teams to seriously re-examine their blueprints to guarantee the security and prosperity of every Nigerian, my objective is accomplished. I love my country Nigeria, and as I said before, I won’t keep quiet again.

Once more, Nigeria must survive and prosper beyond Buhari or Jonathan!

Credit: premiumtimesng.com

Missing N30trillion: I won’t Answer Soludo Again, Says Okonjo-Iweala

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Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Tuesday said she would no longer reply the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Charles Soludo, over claims that that N30 trillion was stolen under her watch.

Okonjo-Iweala said this while responding to questions on a radio programme on Raypower. She, however, advised Nigerians not to be deceived by the misinformation by some politicians in the country.

When asked to comment on the alleged missing N30 trillion, the finance minister said: “This is part of the packaged lies that Nigerians must avoid. I don’t want to enter into that debate, we have answered him (Soludo) and I don’t want to join issues with him because you don’t join issues when things don’t make any sense.”

Read More: dailypost.ng

Soludo, Fayemi and Fani-Kayode: My Takeaway By Iyabo Obasanjo

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Professor Soludo’s article on the elections in Nigeria is the best writing I have read recently on the real situation politically and economically in Nigeria.

The well-articulated response from Dr. Fayemi compared to the abuse infused response from Femi Fani-Kayode on the PDP side is a great example of the contrast of the status-quo compared to the alternative.

Whatever the case and I don’t expect miracles form APC but right now they have more thinking people than the PDP.  As a Yoruba person, Dr. Fayemi’s response is how we expect our educated elite to take up issues and not the mad rantings of Fani-Kayode.

I agree with most of his premise but I do not think they (APC) can take up a massive public works program in a period of “famine” i.e. low oil prices.

During the great depression when Roosevelt used public works to help provide jobs, it was the stock market that failed i.e. Government revenue was affected from tax income but income from exportation which was then mainly agricultural goods was not affected.

The best part of Dr. Fayemi’s response is that it is not elite focused.  Nigerian governance as I saw it was not a democracy but an elitocracy.  Govt of the elite by the elite for the elite and even if you grew up in near death poverty once you left those circumstances you forgot where you came from and concentrated on your immediate family and matters affecting the wellbeing of the elite.The government could use money from its coffers to create jobs and provide skills and training, which people could then use in the private sector.

Changing this perspective to make the elite understand that their wellbeing was in fact dependent on the wellbeing of the masses will be APC’s challenge.

 They are sourcing from the same pool of elite talent that every Nigerian government has to source from and it is this pool that essentially has to be different or we will find ourselves again at precipice as usual.

Jonathan’s Campaign Slams Soludo for Rating President F9, says Ex-CBN Chief Confused

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President Goodluck Jonathan campaign on Monday reacted angrily to the criticism by the former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN governor, Chukwuma Soludo, that his administration failed woefully in its handling of the country’s economy.

In his widely publicized assessment of President Jonathan’s handling of the country’s economy in the past five years, Mr. Soludo, gave the administration an ‘F’ grade in the management of the economy, describing it as the worst in Nigeria’s political history.

But in its reaction, Mr. Jonathan’s campaign, the Goodluck Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation, PCO, dismissed the former CBN governor as a confused Nigerian, who has lost touch with the reality of his country.

A statement by the spokesperson for the campaign, Femi Fani-Kayode, said contrary to Mr. Soludo’s wish that Mr. Jonathan withdraws, he would not only run next month, but would win his re-election.

“To say that the President should not run in this election and that he should throw in the towel is absurd and self-depreciating,” he said. “It is a manifestation of the morbid fear of failure and defeat that the leaders of the opposition are all suffering from.

Read More: premiumtimesng

Peter Obi Fires Back At Soludo

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Former governor of Anambra state, Mr Peter Obi has dismissed Soludo as a man haunted by his past for stating that he (Obi) built no signature project in Anambra State during his tenure.

Speaking through his Media Assistant, Mr. Valentine Obienyem, Obi described the article by Professor Charles Soludo as full of evidence of one who is still nursing deep hatred against those he wrongly assumed were responsible for not renewing his appointment as the Governor of the Central Bank and those that thwarted his move towards becoming the Governor of Anambra State last year.

Obienyem in his response agreed with some vital points raised by Soludo but regretted that the aim of the write-up was not to instruct or contribute to positive national discourse, but to hit back at those he is nursing secret grudges against.

Obienyem recalled how Soludo in 2013, said he was the foundation upon which the new Anambra State was built, and went on to commend him on how he changed the fortunes of the state.

He wondered why Soludo would just turn around so soon to declare that the tragedy of Obi’s tenure was that he built no signature project by which his regime would be remembered but saved money in the midst of hunger thereby impoverishing the people of the State.

Obienyem said it was surprising that a renowned economist as Soludo, who in the same write up, prided himself of saving $45billion in the nation’s external reserves when he was the Central Bank Governor in the same article should condemn Obi for saving money for Anambra State, questioning the wisdom of savings where there were things that needed to be done.

“When he said he saved $45bn, does it mean that at that time Nigeria’s problems were over? Now oil price is falling and state’s allocation are bound to fall, Soludo should be told that the money Obi saved will be used to cushion the effect, among others reasons for states to save at all times. He also talked about clearing Nigerian debts without acknowledging that the architect of it is Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who is still part of Jonathan’s Government”.

On Obi leaving no signature project, Obienyem said that Soludo merely displayed his ignorance of what true development is, insisting that development is nothing if it does not involve the totality of man.

“Talking about signature project, Obi has them in abundance. He built over 30 bridges, built the State Secretariat, built the teaching hospital, built the permanent site of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University, rebuilt Iyienu, Borromeo hospitals, Holy Rosary and St Joseph hospitals; and Our Lady of Lourdes among many hospitals with signature structures dotting them.

“Beyond the foregoing”, Obienyem continued, “Soludo should be told that Obi did much more in areas that are far more important than mere structures. He returned schools to the Church and committed billions that could build any form of signature project of Soludo’s imagination. Because of this, Anambra State is today the number one in external examinations in the country.

Moreover, he changed the psyche of the people of the State and removed Anambra State from her pariah status to one of the exemplary States in the country.”

Nigerians Divided Over Soludo’s Opinion- Vanguard

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The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo has divided opinions on the social media, with many praising his thesis on the country while others took exception, saying it is to ridicule the government of Goodluck Jonathan with less than three weeks to the presidential election and published on the day the president met stakeholders in the private sector in Lagos state.

It will be recalled that Soludo urged Nigerians to prepare for hard time ahead, noting that neither president Jonathan nor his major challenger, Gen. Muhammedu Buhari, has a well-thought programme to tackle the economic challenges in the country. He regretted that the success made by the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo has not been built upon by the Jonathan’s administration.

“Let me admit that the two main parties talk around the major development challenges—corruption, insecurity, economy (unemployment/poverty, power, infrastructure, etc) health, education, etc. However, it is my considered view that none of them has any credible agenda to deal with the issues, especially within the context of the evolving global economy and Nigeria’s broken public finance,” he said.

The article was praised by many including celebrities and analysts while APC supporters saw it as a vindication of the need to oust Jonathan; PDP supporters said the article is biased and an attack on the president and his team, asking why Soludo singled out, Peter Obi, the former governor of his home state, Anambra for condemnation.

Read More: vanguardngr.com

‘Jonathan Has No Record Of Good Governance’ – Ex-CBN Governor Charles Soludo Speaks

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Believe it or not, politics is in top gear; you either sell yourself or others will sell you their own way.

A former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof Charles Soludo, has advised the presidential flag bearer of the PDP, President Goodluck Jonathan, to stop campaigning about the record of his outgoing government, saying it has no testimonial to parade.

Soludo, a former governorship candidate of the PDP in Anambra State, gave this position in a document entitled ‘Buhari vs Jonathan: Beyond election’:

He said, “My advice to President Jonathan and his handlers is to stop wasting their time trying to campaign on his job record. Those who have decided to vote for him will not do so because he has taken Nigeria to the moon. His record on the economy is a clear ‘F’ grade.

“As one reviews the laundry list of micro interventions the government calls its achievements, one wonders whether such list is all that the government could deliver with an unprecedented oil boom and an unprecedented public debt accumulation. I can clearly see why reasonable people are worried.

“Everywhere else in the world, government performance on the economy is measured by some outcome variables such as: income (GDP growth rate), stability of prices (inflation and exchange rate), unemployment rate, poverty rate, etc.

“On all these scores, this government has performed worse than its immediate predecessor– Obasanjo regime. If we appropriately adjust for oil income and debt, then this government is the worst in our history on the economy. All statistics are from the National Bureau of Statistics”.

While comparing Jonathan’s administration to that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo where he (Soludo) served, he noted that “despite presiding over the biggest oil boom in our history, it (present administration) has not added one percentage point to the growth rate of GDP compared to the Obasanjo regime especially the 2003- 07 period. Obasanjo met GDP growth rate at 2% but averaged 7% within 2003- 07.

“ The current government has been stuck at 6% despite an unprecedented oil boom. Income (GDP) growth has actually performed worse, and poverty escalated. This is the only government in our history where rapidly increasing government expenditure was associated with increasing poverty”.

While assessing the economic and development policies of the two major political parties in the February election, the ruling PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC), he declared that “So far, neither the APC nor the PDP has a credible programme for employment and poverty reduction”.

“The APC promises to create 20,000 jobs per state in the first year, totalling a mere 720,000 jobs. This sounds like a quota system and for a country where the new entrants into the labour market per annum exceed two million. If it was intended as a joke, APC must please get serious.

“On the other hand, President Jonathan targets two million jobs per annum but his strategy for doing so is a Job Board — another committee of sort. Sorry, Mr. President, a Job Board is not a strategy. The principal job Nigerians hired you to do for them is to create jobs for them too. You cannot outsource that job, Sir. Creating 3 million jobs per annum under the unfolding crisis would task our creativity and audacity to the limits”.