TheCable

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the appointment of Doyin Salami as the chief economic adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari is “a waste of time”.

On Tuesday, Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson, announced Salami’s appointment and said the economist will address issues on the economy and present views on them to the president.

He had also said Salami will monitor national and international developments, trends and develop appropriate economic policy to foster macro-economic stability, promote growth, create jobs, and eradicate poverty.

But in a statement issued on Wednesday, the opposition party said the Buhari administration does not heed professional advice on governance and policy.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) describes the appointment of Dr. Doyin Salami by President Muhammadu Buhari as Chief Economic Adviser barely a year to the end of his disastrous administration as a design to make the economist a scapegoat for the abysmal failures of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government,” Debo Ologunagba, PDP spokesperson, said in a statement.

“It is evident that Dr. Salami might end up being rubbished and diminished as a titular adviser given that the Buhari Presidency and the APC, in their ignorance, arrogance and incompetence, are never known to have any respect or regard for professional advice on governance and policy.

“As long as the APC, with its insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians is in government, involved professionals like Dr. Salami can never make headway but risk being smeared with failure.

“If the APC government did not listen to Dr. Salami as the Head of the hurriedly established Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), it will not now take his advice in his new capacity because the APC government lacks the listening ears, competence, capacity, integrity and political will and desire for good governance.

“If President Buhari and the APC had listened to well-thought-out advice by patriotic Nigerians as well as the PDP on how to stabilise and grow the economy, our nation would not be in the current economic quagmire where over 80 million Nigerians can no longer afford their daily meals and other basic necessities of life.”

The PDP asked Salami to “protect his image” by advising Buhari to end frequent borrowing and focus on developing critical sectors including power and agriculture.

“For emphasis, our Party admonishes Dr. Salami to note that his task of advising an incompetent, arrogant and corrupt administration would be gruelling, if not a complete waste of time,” the PDP added.