Former Vice President and Presidential Foagbearer of the People’s Democratic Party during the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar has urged President Bola Tinubu to emulate his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei, for accelerated economic growth in Nigeria.
In a tweet posted last night on X, following a report by Reuters International news agency on Argentina’s market optimism, Atiku called for a decisive action to tackle Nigeria’s economic challenges.
“I read a recent report in Reuters, titled: Argentina’s market doubled down on Milei as investors ‘start to believe’; I took a keen interest in reading the report because I know quite well that Argentina and Nigeria closed the last quarter of the Year 2023 on a similar path of economic downturn.
“In the case of Nigeria, a new government was installed at or about the middle of 2023; for Argentina, the new government came on board in December; both leaders inherited a disoriented economy, but both applied different measures to recovery.
“President Javier Milei of Argentina was sworn into office on December 10, 2023; he inherited a worse condition than Nigeria’s. But what he did to return his country to a place where investors are ‘starting to believe’ should serve as a lesson to Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu.
“Nigeria is where we are today simply because of what Tinubu has done or did not do; his shifting the blame on the opposition and, even ridiculously, his predecessor is needless and myopic; market forces don’t play politics, they respond to your actions and inactions.
“President Milei’s major campaign promise was to re-position the Argentine economy after years of slow growth, high debt levels, triple-digit inflation (160 per cent when he took over the Presidency in December 2023) and 40 per cent poverty rate; his first task was to begin implementing measures to achieve greater macroeconomic stability and promote higher global competitiveness.
“He came into the office with a comprehensive stabilisation plan, which seeks to implement far-reaching measures within the context of a market-oriented economy; he started off cutting government expenditure by cutting the size of government and wastages; blocked stealing of government funds, and attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through concessions, tax holidays, and improved ease of doing business.
“President Milei flies regular business class for all his travels and does not offer the presidential fleet of Argentina for his son’s birthday; likewise, there is no settlement for his hangers-on and political allies through unwieldy and burdensome appointments to public offices,” Atiku stated.
