Tinubu100: Strong Start, Stronger Challenges

•Here are 25 key performance indicators as guide

Kingsley Nwezeh, Emmanuel Addeh, James Emejo in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos

Today makes it exactly 100 days since President Bola Tinubu was inaugurated as the 16th president of Nigeria.

Interestingly, it is the same day that the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal is scheduled to deliver judgement in the petitions challenging Tinubu’s election as president.

Indeed, it has been a momentous 100 days marked by deliberately proactive initiatives and reset policies, as well as a few policy missteps, which have been trailed by both commendation and controversy.

Tinubu’s first 100 days in office has been tension-soaked and action-packed, with wide lamentations among the citizenry due to the fallout of some key policies.

The controversial policy of subsidy removal threw the country into instant suffering and lamentation from day one, worsened by the subsequent decision to restore democratic order in Niger Republic.

The threat of military alliance between Mali, Bukina Faso, Guinea Bissau and Niger, and the wider implication of a proxy war by western powers, Russia and China brought the sudden reality of a military confrontation at the doorstep of the nation. This was, especially, given the complicated relationship between the people of Niger and seven contiguous northern states of Nigeria in just three months of Tinubu’s ascension to power.

However, there was excitement following the appointment of ministers, heads of parastatals and other controversial decisions, including the suspension from office and subsequent arrest and detention of Governor of the Central Bank (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, and the sacking of Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa. Both men are still languishing in detention. Several court orders to release Emefiele have been defied by Tinubu’s government. While no explanation  has been given for the detention of the former EFCC Chairman.

Below are some of the major developments that have watermarked the first 100 days of the Tinubu administration.

1.  FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL

In his May 29 inauguration speech, Bola Tinubu announced an end to petrol subsidy, resulting in a sharp increase in the price of the product. Tinubu said the policy was a burden on the country’s scarce resources.

While the action was commended by stakeholders and analysts, including the international creditors, the lack of concrete planning and palliatives that ought to have been provided immediately subsidy was removed led to increased hardship, hunger and poverty in the land, with agitations from the organised labour.

2.  FOREX UNIFICATION

On June 13, at the behest of Tinubu, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the abolishment of segmentation in the foreign exchange (forex) market and collapsed all rates into the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window. The move put an end to the multiple exchange system, leading to the floating of the naira.

In one fell swoop, the apex bank also announced the re-introduction of the “Willing Buyer, Willing Seller” model at the I&E Window as well as the cessation of the RT200 Rebate and Naira4Dollar Remittance Schemes, with effect from June 30. They had argued that the operation of different exchange rates was a great disincentive to local and foreign investors.

3.  REMOVAL OF CBN GOVERNOR

One of the major actions taken by Tinubu on assumption of office was the suspension of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, from office on June 9. The president immediately ordered Emefiele’s probe.

The CBN governor’s suspension was sequel to an ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the economy’s financial sector, according to a statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

But many believed Emefiele’s suspension was more of a political and personal issue for Tinubu, having accused the former of plotting to thwart his presidential ambition during the elections that brought him to power.

At the centre of the disagreement was the currency redesign programme and cashless policy introduced by Emefiele in the build-up to the elections to among, other things, limit vote-buying by politicians.

The embattled CBN governor had denied the accusations and repeatedly stated that the policies were targeted at no one in particular.

Emefiele remains in custody, despite a court ruling for his release.

4.  REMOVAL OF EFCC CHAIRMAN

On July 14, Tinubu removed Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, from office, indefinitely. Bawa’s suspension was equally announced by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF). His suspension, reportedly, stemmed from weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him. The government also said it wanted “to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office”.

5.  ABOLITION OF SUPPORT FOR PROFESSIONAL BODIES

As part of the cost-cutting measures by the Tinubu administration, the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS), on June 28, approved the discontinuation of budgetary allocation to professional bodies/councils effective from January 2024. The move, announced by Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Ben Akabueze, in a letter dated June 26, 2023, and addressed to Chief Registrar/Chief Executive, Optometrist, and Dispensing Opticians Board, pointed out that the PCS’s approval for the stoppage of the funding support from the treasury was given during the committee’s 13th meeting.

Akabueze further explained that by the correspondence, the affected entities would be required to be fully responsible for their personnel, overhead, and capital expenditures going forward.

The letter, titled, “Discontinuation of Funding of Professional Bodies and Councils from 2024 Budget, in Line with the Decisions of the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS),” stated that the budget office will no longer make budgetary provisions to the institutions. It added that they will be self-funded organisations henceforth.

6. SACK OF BUHARI’S APPOINTEES ON BOARDS

On June 19, President Bola Tinubu approved the immediate dissolution of the governing boards of all federal government parastatals, agencies, institutions, and government-owned companies that were appointed by his predecessor.  A statement by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, said the dissolution was carried out by the government in the exercise of its constitutional powers and in the public interest.

7. SIGNING OF ELECTRICITY BILL INTO LAW

 In June, Tinubu assented to the electricity bill, which, among others, authorised states, companies and individuals to generate, transmit and distribute electricity. The new electricity law repealed the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA), which was signed into law by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005 and provided the legal, regulatory and governance frameworks underpinning the sector. It also consolidated all legislations dealing with the electricity supply industry to provide an omnibus and ideal institutional framework to guide the post-privatisation phase and attract investment.

According to the new law, states would be able to issue licenses to private investors with the ability to operate mini-grids and power plants. But the law said such state licenses were not to extend to inter-state or transnational distribution of electricity.

8. ASSENT TO STUDENTS’ LOAN LAW

Tinubu, within his first 100 days in power, signed the students’ loan bill into law, being one of his campaign promises, to liberalise funding of education in the country. The federal government stated that the idea behind the law was to help indigent students and other interested parties, to be able to obtain education in the country.

The government explained, “So this is a boom to our youths, to our students nationwide…there are committees to be set up, the members of committees are drawn from various bodies to superintend over the efficient and proficient disbursement of this facility.”

9. APPOINTMENT OF 45 MINISTERS

After a long wait, Tinubu released a full list of ministers who would assist him in delivering on his electoral promises. The ministers had since taken the oath of office, and had been assigned portfolios and resumed at their respective ministries.

10.  INAUGURATION OF COMMITTEE ON FISCAL POLICY AND TAX REFORMS

On August 8, the president inaugurated the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms at State House, Abuja. The Taiwo Oyedele-led committee, comprising experts from both the private and public sectors, was saddled with the responsibility of reworking various aspects of the tax law, fiscal policy design and coordination, as well as harmonisation of taxes and revenue administration.

11.  RECALL OF AMBASSADORS

The federal government recently recalled all career and non-career ambassadors. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, said the ambassadors, as representatives of the country, served at the behest of the president. He said the president could either send or recall them from any country. The ambassadors, who had been appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021, were expected to commence the winding down of their affairs in their countries of deployment, take formal leave of the host governments within 60 days, and return to Nigeria by October 31, 2023, at the latest.

12.  FIRST NATIONAL BROADCAST

To explain to Nigerians his effort to ameliorate the harsh effect of his petrol subsidy removal policy, Tinubu, in his first national broadcast, said his administration had made provisions to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 in the acquisition of 3,000 units of 20-seater buses powered by compressed natural gas (CNG).

Tinubu added that his administration placed a high priority on enhancing citizens’ welfare and living conditions, stressing that the move would boost mass transportation. He said a new infrastructure fund would further enable states to intervene and invest in critical areas and bring relief to many Nigerians, as well as revamp the country’s decaying healthcare and educational infrastructure.

The president stated, “The fund will also bring improvements to rural access roads to ease evacuation of farm produce to markets. With the fund, our states will become more competitive and on a stronger financial footing to deliver economic prosperity to Nigerians.”

13.  EXTENSION OF POST-SUBSIDY PALLIATIVES TO STATES

The federal government also approved N5 billion for each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enable them to procure food items for distribution to the poor in their respective states. The governors confirmed receiving N2 billion as first tranche. It came in the wake of the hike in the cost of food items, and petroleum owing to the removal of subsidy on the commodity.

The federal government also announced the release of five trucks of rice each to the 36 state governors. According to the government, 52 per cent of the funds are given to the state governments as grants, with 48 per cent as loans.

14.  NNPC SECURES $3BN FROM AFREXIMBANK

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) secured a $3 billion emergency crude repayment loan to support the naira and stabilise the foreign exchange market. The federal government secured the crude-for-cash funding from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

A statement from NNPC said, “The NNPC Ltd and Afrexim Bank have jointly signed a commitment letter and Termsheet for an emergency $3 billion crude oil repayment loan.

“The signing, which took place at the bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, will provide some immediate disbursement that will enable the NNPC Ltd. to support the federal government in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilising the exchange rate market.”

15.  TRIP TO FRANCE

In June, Tinubu embarked on his first official trip as president to France, where he joined other world leaders in Paris to review and sign a New Global Financial Pact that placed vulnerable countries on priority list for support and investment. This followed the devastating effect of climate change, energy crisis, and after effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the two-day summit held from June 22 to 23, the president participated actively, along with his counterparts from other nations, in the discussions that looked at opportunities to restore fiscal space to countries that faced difficult short-term financial challenges, especially, the most indebted ones, such as Nigeria.

Tinubu also joined other global leaders, multilateral institutions, financial experts and economists to take a holistic look at the recovery of economies from the effect of COVID-19 pandemic, and rising cases of poverty, with a view to providing access to finance and investment that would leverage inclusive growth.

16.  ELECTION AS ECOWAS CHAIRMAN

Tinubu was on July 9 elected Chairman of the Authority of the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It was the first time a president, who was barely three months in office as president of a member-state, was elected chairman of the regional bloc. Tinubu is the eighth Nigerian leader to be elected chairman of ECOWAS.

In his inaugural speech to ECOWAS members, the president pledged to provide a leadership determined to tackle terrorism and general insecurity in the sub-region. He took a famous position to move against the coup contagion ravaging West Africa, where eight coup attempts were recorded in the last two years with four successful ones in Guinea Bissau, Mali, Bukina Faso, Niger, and the latest one in Gabon.

17.  COUP IN NIGER REPUBLIC

The decision by the regional ECOWAS to consider the option of military intervention to restore deposed President Mohammed Bazoun in Niger Republic was a turning point in Tinubu’s 100 days in office. Tinubu had, in his speech on assumption of office as ECOWAS Chairman, called on member states to “stand firm on democracy.”

He said, “We will not accept coup after coup in West Africa again. Democracy is very difficult to manage, but it is the best form of government.”

With the option of military intervention, the Tinubu-led regional bloc was faced with a difficult decision to either walk the talk or stick with the diplomatic option that was complicated by the face-off between the military junta, backed by the Nigerian masses, and the French authorities, who refused to recognise the new military government.

Tinubu faced the challenge of another coup on August 30, in neighbouring Republic of Gabon. In his official reaction, he said he was already in talks with other world leaders on how to respond to the spreading autocratic tendencies in the continent. Tinubu expressed deep concern over the coup d’état in Gabon and stressed that he firmly believed power belonged to the African people, and not the barrel of the gun.

18.  ASSENT TO Bill ON NEW RETIREMENT AGE FOR JUDICIAL OFFICERS

One of the legislations signed into law by Tinubu was a bill unifying judicial officers’ retirement age to 70, which he assented to on June 8. The bill unified the retirement age and pension rights of judicial officers.

A statement issued by the State House Director of Information, Abiodun Oladunjoye, stated, “With the signing of the constitutional amendment bill, retirement age and pension rights of judicial officers have been effectively brought into uniformity and other related matters.”

While signing the amendment bill into law, Tinubu pledged his administration’s determination to strengthen the judiciary, ensuring the rule of law and empowering judicial officers to execute their responsibilities effectively.

19.  APPOINTS, REJIGS NDDC BOARD

The president approved the appointment of board and management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He named Chiedu Ebie from Delta State as Chairman, while Samuel Ogbuku from Bayelsa State was appointed Managing Director/CEO.

Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said the president expected a new era of successful administration.

“The president expects that the new board and management team will ensure a new era of successful administration in the NDDC, in line with his Renewed Hope agenda,” Ngelale said.

But the appointment triggered protests across the Niger Delta, forcing the president to rejig the board.

He subsequently replaced the nominee from Ondo State, Victor Akinjo, with a new nominee from the state, Hon. Otito Atikase.

The president also approved the immediate replacement of the NDDC’s Cross River State representative, Asi Okang, with Hon. Orok Duke.

20.  REPLACEMENT OF NASENI CHAIRMAN

Tinubu terminated the appointment of Executive Vice-Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Agency for Science Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Dr. Bashir Gwandu, fired after serving two terms and what appeared to be an erroneous approval for a third tenure. The most senior director stood in for some time, pending Gwandu’s appointment in the dying days of former president Buhari.

But Tinubu approved the appointment of 32 years old Khalil Suleiman Halilu as the new Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of NASENI.

Presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, said Halilu will serve for an initial term of five years in accordance with the relevant sections of the NASENI Act, 2014.

21.  PARTNERSHIP WITH PEEK VISION FOUNDATION

Tinubu approved the partnership between the Federal Ministry of Health’s National Eye Health Programme and the Peek Vision Foundation, which was targeted at providing more than five million pairs of eyeglasses for Nigerians experiencing sight impairments.  Tinubu gave the approval in Abuja, when he hosted the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Peek Vision Foundation and Co-Founder of the Vision Catalyst Fund, Prof. Andrew Bastawrous, who came on a courtesy visit to the president.

While recounting how close to home his first intervention in eye health was from his days as Lagos State Governor, Tinubu who gave his support for the provision of eyeglasses to the visually impaired, encouraged the mobilisation of further commitment to the initiative.

22.  G20 SUMMIT

Tinubu was one of nine heads of state invited to join world leaders at the elite G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, which holds from 9th to 10th September.

Tinubu plans to use the opportunity of the summit to shop for more Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) for the development of the nation’s economy. The president intends to meet with a number of potential investors and woo them into having interest in investing in the Nigerian steel development, electricity generation, transmission and distribution, shipyard building capacity and many others, which are labour-intensive and can create job opportunities for Nigerians.

According to the presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngalele, the president would be meeting with a cross section of heads of state as well as industrial leaders, titans, chief executive officers of some of the world’s most valuable companies, particularly those of Indian origin.

Ngalele stated recently that Nigeria was weighing the benefits and risks of joining the elite Group of 20 nations.

With Tinubu’s invitation, Nigeria has taken some bold steps on the international scene. Neither President Goodluck Jonathan nor former President Muhammadu Buhari were invited to participate in G20 summits during their times in office.

Other invited alongside Tinubu are the presidents of Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and UAE.  

23. SEEKING GLOBAL SUPPORT TO FIGHT TERRORISM

As part of his multi-approach towards addressing security and terrorism challenges in Nigeria, Tinubu called on the United Nations to be more practical in supporting the country in the fight against terrorism.

In an audience with Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office on Counter-Terrorism, Mr Vladimir Voronkov, at State House, the president observed that terrorism had consistently reversed the gains on development and increased instability in families and communities.

While appreciating the UN their work, Tinibu said, “We know that in the face of many demands and challenges, you can still do much better. We can score you ‘A’ in collaboration but ‘B’ in physical support. You have to do more because terrorism is an effective danger to democracy; terrorism is also an effective danger to development.”

24.  UNSUCCESSFUL DIALOGUE WITH LABOUR

Labour unions in the country have gone on demonstrations twice since the removal of petrol subsidy, following the inability of the Tinubu government to successfully dialogue with them. After a successful nationwide protest in the first week of August, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), a leading trade union centre in the country, called out its members for a two-day warning strike between September 5 and 6 over what it termed the failure of the Tinubu government to provide post-petrol subsidy removal palliatives, among several other demands by NLC.

25.  DESPITE FX UNIFICATION SUPPLY REMAINS A PROBLEM

Despite the unification of the forex rates, supply remains a problem in the market which has led to a significant increase in the arbitrage gap. That has had significant impact on petrol prices, leading to more labour unrest. For instance, before the unification of the forex rates, the naira was trading around N460 to a dollar on the official market, but now it goes for about N750 to a dollar on same market, with arbitrage gap of about N300 to a dollar.