Sack three ministers now, Dino Melaye tells Buhari

A senator, Dino Melaye, on Sunday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take measures to remedy what he described as a “debilitating economic malaise” that is drifting Nigeria towards a “dangerous precipice.”

Mr. Melaye, who represents Kogi State, said the time to take “drastic” measures to save the economy has come.

To stabilise the economy, Mr. Melaye, a member of President Buhari’s All Progressives Congress, APC, asked the president to dismiss the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma; and the Governor of Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele.

Mr. Melaye’s recommendations came in an update on his Facebook page Sunday afternoon. He accused two of the ministers of “gross incompetence.”

“The Finance Minister has not only displayed gross incompetence on the job, she also lacks the basic and rudimentary grasp of economic fundamentals necessary to run a critical sector of the Nigerian economy like the Finance Ministry.

“It is time for her to go now and pave way for a qualified and experienced person to steer the Nigerian economy away from the dark woods it has sunk presently under her stewardship,” Mr. Melaye said.

In Mr. Udoma’s case, Mr. Melaye said the former senator was a fine gentleman who lacked requisite qualifications to manage Nigeria’s budget and planning tasks.

“It is akin to saddling a carpenter with a tailor’s responsibility,” Mr. Melaye said.

Mr. Melaye, a close ally of embattled Senate President Bukola Saraki who is being tried for false asset declaration, said he was calling for Mr. Emefiele’s head because he had allegedly committed a series of “policy flip-flops, somersaults and inconsistencies as clear evidence of gross incompetence in the management of the nation’s fiscal and monetary policies.”

The Kogi Senator, who recently courted controversy when he allegedly threatened to beat up a female senator, said he was compelled to release the statement because he feared the hardship Nigerians are grappling with has reached a level that had never before been witnessed.

“As I walk the streets of my constituency these days, I constantly harbor a foreboding that I could be stoned by my angry constituents for the failure of Mr President to fulfill his campaign promises and expectations to Nigerians,” Mr. Melaye said.

“The hunger in the land is real, pervasive, widespread and debilitating for the poor masses,” Mr. Melaye said.

Mr. Melaye, however, said his faith in Mr. Buhari’s ability to turn around the situation remained strong.

“While there is a lot of hunger, anger, anguish and despair currently in the land, I have a firm belief that the situation is not beyond redemption for Mr President, hence my call for urgent and drastic remedial action now,” he said.

Calls have continued to mount for President Buhari to fix the nation’s economy, which officially entered recession last Wednesday after months of low crude revenues and inflation.