Ex-PDP Legal Adviser Berates APC over Delayed Appointment of Economic Adviser

Ex-PDP Legal Adviser Berates APC over Delayed Appointment of Economic Adviser

Okon Bassey in Uyo

The immediate past National Legal Adviser to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Emmanuel Enoidem, has carpeted the Presidency and the All Progressive Congress (APC) for not having an Economic Adviser to oversee the economic need of the country for over four years.

He described the recent appointment of Dr. Doyin Salami as the Chief Economic Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, as a clear case of cluelessness on the part of the APC-led administration.

Salami’s appointment was announced last week by the Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, for the first time since the inception of Buhari’s administration in 2015.

Speaking with journalists during the weekend in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State’s capital, the former PDP’s legal adviser said that it is only a clueless government that would run its administration for four years without an economic adviser.

Enoidem said: “It is unimaginable that somebody would run a government for four years without an economic team or adviser.
“The first time the president has bothered to appoint an economic adviser was last week, in six and half years of his government?

“It is laughable that you are not an economist, your educational background is even challenging, yet you don’t want to bring in people that know to work with you, that is why we fail as a country under the leadership of President Buhari.”

Enoidem who is eyeing the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District seat in 2023 also berated the National Assembly for proposing the inclusion of direct primary in the Electoral Bill, describing the decision as “nonsensical” in the 21st century.He argued that imposing a direct primary on all the political parties in Nigeria with astronomic population is the most ridiculous and untenable thing, since it is like returning the electoral process to the stone age of the 15th century.

He said the cost of managing the process of direct primary is too high, adding that an aspirant would be compelled to undergo two major general elections, the election that produces him as a candidate of the party and another for the general election.

“For any person to think of returning direct primaries as a way of nominating a candidate in a country that has over 200 million is a big mistake!
“It is returning the electoral process to the stone age of the 15th BC. It is nothing but a clear invitation to confusion and crises in the 21st century.

“It is not tenable in Nigeria with a bourgeoning population.
“Another thing is that the cost of managing that process is too high, it means subjecting a candidate to two general elections. That is election that produces him as the candidate of the party and another for a general election.

“For instance, Akwa Ibom that has up to 368 wards, you have to conduct election in all the wards, you are just killing the process and the person who genuinely wants to contest but does not have money. In fact it is a way of killing democracy.

“For me it is most nonsensical for the National Assembly to come up with such a proposal in the 21st century. It was not supported by fact, not supported by history not by times,” the ex-PDP legal adviser stressed.

However, he commended the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) for dissuading President Buhari from signing the bill citing insecurity in the country as one of the reasons.
“I must give it to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation. This is the first time I’m commending that office,” he stated.

Related Articles