El-Rufai Faults Sequencing of Tinubu’s Economic Policies

Speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Monday night, the critic of the government and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said the current administration did not get the sequencing of its economic policies right.

Recall that after President Tinubu emerged the candidate of the APC, Mr El-Rufai campaigned vigorously for him, going about to tell those who cared to listen that the former Governor of Lagos State was the best man to transform the fortune of Nigeria for good.

In one of the outings, Mr Tinubu begged Mr El-Rufai to join his government when elected because of his expertise, which he accepted.

After Mr Tinubu was sworn in on May 29, 2023, he nominated the former Kaduna State governor as a Minister, but he was rejected by the Senate during screening due to “security reports” about him.

In the interview yesterday monitored by Business Post, Mr El-Rufai noted that the parliament did not reject his nomination but the President did by changing his mind at the last minute.

He disclosed that some of President Tinubu’s policies are good and bad, stressing that his main issue with them are the sequencing.

“I support some of [his] policies; most of the economic policies are the right orthodox policies, but the sequencing is wrong and the quality of the people implementing the reforms leaves much to be desired. And I think that some of the reforms are just wrong,” the politician, who claimed he is still a member of the APC, declared.

Speaking specifically about one of the policies, the former governor said, “You don’t address food inflation by destroying domestic agriculture.”

“Food prices may be going down, but farmers are being impoverished because they are being made to compete with subsidised agricultural products from Europe and other countries.

“So, I have issues with many of them, and I’m in touch with many senior officials of the administration, and I give them my opinion privately,” he added.

He accused the President of nepotism, saying he entrusted his government to his allies, who he called Mr Tinubu’s “boys.”