Dr. Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh, the president of the Ebonyi Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, or EBCIMA, has pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to reorganize his cabinet in order to salvage the Nigerian economy and bring the nation together.
Chieftain of the Labour Party Ezeh said, speaking to journalists in Enugu on Monday, that Tinubu’s administration has been experiencing the “announcement effect” as a result of the abrupt and unplanned elimination of the gasoline subsidy, which caused an already unstable economy to collapse.
As said by Ezeh: “The current president promised to continue from where Buhari left off, and he is indeed making efforts to fulfil that promise. However, it’s essential to reflect on the lessons we’ve learned from waiting for competence to emerge. We spent eight years waiting for Buhari’s tenure to end, only to find ourselves facing an even deeper nightmare.
“President Tinubu began his administration on somewhat shaky ground, falling into what economists call ‘announcement effects’ with his initial policy moves. While many Nigerians wanted an end to the subsidy conundrum, they also desired a well-thought-out process, shared vision, and collective understanding of the pains involved in reform. Unfortunately, the abrupt removal of subsidies without adequate communication will likely haunt this administration throughout its tenure.”
Speaking about how to get out of the nation’s current economic crisis, Ezeh counseled the president to appoint capable people to his government, cautioning that the hardship currently experienced poses a severe socio-political threat to Nigeria’s corporate existence unless drastic steps were implemented.
“Leadership should involve guiding citizens through the dark nights of necessary reforms. The suffering, tone-deafness of political class, rampant corruption, and debilitating economic challenges are adversities that may ultimately unite Nigerians.
“President Tinubu has an opportunity to revisit President Obasanjo’s playbook. Obasanjo faced a completely stagnant economy but rallied the best minds from all walks of life. Within a few years, Nigeria bounced back. We have abundant human and material resources; what we urgently need is a government of national unity.
”Such a cabinet should comprise 35 per cent technocrats, 45 per cent politicians, and 20 per cent bureaucrats drawn from every corner of Nigeria. In fact, President Tinubu could benefit from assembling a ‘War Cabinet’ to address our current economic crisis effectively,” Ezeh advised.
