Nigeria’s former leaders, including Yakubu Gowon, Muhammadu Buhari, Abdusalami Abubakar and Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday, passed a vote of confidence on President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, at the Council of State meeting
Ibrahim Babangida, Nigeria’s former military head of state, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo were absent.
The meeting, the first under the current administration, discussed issues around the economy and security, including the recent nationwide protests.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Dele Alake, minister of Solid Minerals Development, and Wale Edun, minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the Economy, who briefed State House journalists, said the former leaders were briefed on the economy and security situation in the country, as well as the administration’s effort in tackling them.
Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser, also used the opportunity to brief the Council on the recent protests and attempts to forcefully take over the government.
Abdulrazaq said the Council unanimously passed a vote of confidence on Tinubu for the way he has governed the country. He said the Council also expressed satisfaction with the presentations made by ministers on the progress of the economy.
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Alake said the Council also praised Tinubu for resisting a forceful takeover of government, adding that “The #EndBadGovernance was not a protest but movement.”
“The Council affirmed that nobody will be allowed to change the government except through the ballot box.
“The NSA briefed the Council of State about the pre-, during and post-event of the last protests, which I do not call a protest.”
Alake said the Council commended Nigerians for resisting an unconstitutional move to change the government, adding that, “If anybody is not satisfied with the government, there is always an election; so, you wait for election and cast your vote.
“Any change of government has to be through the ballots and not through the barrel of the gun or insurrection or any other unconstitutional means. Only through the ballot box can any government be changed.
On his part, Wale Edun updated the Council on the progress of the macroeconomic policies being followed.
“We did have the opportunity to present to the former presidents an update on the economy, including progress on the microeconomic policies in the eight priority areas of the current administration
“We also looked at the data and in broad terms noted that the economy is growing”, Edun said.
He, however, noted that foreign investors have been supportive of the government, especially in foreign direct portfolios.
“We reported that the economy witnessed $55bn exports recorded last year. We also reported that good progress was being made, indicating an optimistic outlook.”
