Atiku’s aide: Tinubu silencing critics with appointments

Phrank Shaibu, special assistant to Atiku Abubakar, says President Bola Tinubu is offering appointments to his critics to silence them.

Shaibu spoke in reaction to the appointment of Taiwo Oyedele, fiscal policy partner and Africa tax leader at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), by Tinubu as chair of a presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms.

In a statement on Saturday, Shaibu said the president appointed Oyedele to stop him from commenting on the failures of the federal government.

Shaibu said former President Muhammadu Buhari allegedly did the same and never took the counsel of those he appointed.

“It is common knowledge that Mr Oyedele is the loudest voice as regards tax reforms,” he said.

“Last Saturday, he pointed out some of the wrong tax policies of the APC government. In a bid to silence him, he was appointed chairman of a tax reform committee yesterday (Friday), but no other members were announced. Probably, they want him to work alone.

“Mr Oyedele must not allow himself to be deceived by this appointment. In 2019, President Buhari similarly appointed Doyin Salami, Chukwuma Soludo, and Bismark Rewane into his economic advisory team, but he never took their advice for one day.

“In the end, Nigeria was plunged into one of its worst economic crises ever with an unprecedented debt profile, multidimensional poverty, and never before seen unemployment figures.”