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I personally discovered Okonjo-Iweala *How I’m going to tackle Nigeria’s economy
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday, recalled the events leading up to the establishment of the Debt Management Office (DMO) while serving as Vice President under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration between 1999 and 2007.
Speaking at the 26th Lagos Business School (LBS) Alumni Conference held in Lagos, Atiku explained that when the PDP was elected into government in 1999, marking the beginning of the Fourth Republic, the party really did not have a policy document.
This year’s edition of the yearly event held in Lagos on Tuesday, with the theme: The Leadership Imperative, had in attendance some of the presidential candidates of political parties in Nigeria, including Peter Obi, of the Labour Party (LP), an alumnus of the institution, who also spoke at the occasion, one of the platforms which had in recent times, provided an avenue for the candidates to showcase their ideas.
Atiku told the audience made up of top Nigerians in different fields of the economy: “When the PDP was elected into government in 1999, we really did not have a policy document. We didn’t have a plan. We met a country that was heavily indebted, that was in crisis between the various component parts of the country, and so on,” he said.
Atiku said during a trip to the annual International Monetary Fund-World Bank conference in Washington, he visited the World Bank to outline Nigeria’s debt problem.
“(I told them) we don’t know why we’re owing, whom we’re owing, for what, what the money was meant for, and so on. In other words, we didn’t have any records in the Ministry of Finance. Then the World Bank officials said, ‘Look, we have a brilliant Nigerian in this bank.’
“I said, ‘Can you please loan her to us?’ And I was introduced to our former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. I came back and told the President and we invited her to join us. From there, we realised had to set up what we called the Debt Management Office (DMO). We were politicians but we didn’t even know what DMO was. So, we sat down together, we drafted the law establishing the DMO. ‘Who would be the chairman of the DMO?’ We said the Vice President. Who would be the deputy chairman? We said the Minister of Finance. We got the National Assembly to approve that law.”
The DMO was established on October 4, 2000 to centrally coordinate the management of Nigeria’s debt, according to the organisation’s website.
Apart from the DMO, Atiku, also detailed how upon realising there was no economic blueprint, he took the advice of private sector individuals such as former Managing Director of the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), Fola Adeola as well as Akin Kekere-Ekun, who teamed up with Nasir El-Rufai, the current Governor of Kaduna State, to set up an Economic Advisory Committee (EAC), with Anya O. Anya, a university teacher and former Director General of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) as its chairman.
Atiku, who also spoke on the myriads of problems plaguing Nigeria, said insecurity was a concurrent issue and an effective security arrangement would involve all tiers of government. According to him, the security challenges are peculiar to each region and as such requires an all-inclusive approach.
He also dwelt on other issues like climate change, leadership, agriculture and other key aspects of the Nigerian economy, presenting his plans on tackling them.
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, announced the approval of the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and ordered the immediate release of ₦10 billion as emergency intervention funding.
Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman, who conveyed the development to the public, said the fund would strengthen the operational preparedness of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support critical national public health emergency response activities.
To be chaired by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, the committee with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and state representatives is also expected to get briefings on their plans to contain the disease.
Onanuga, stated that Tinubu also specifically directed all states hosting international airports and international border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, to submit their plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for consideration and coordinated implementation.
Stating that the President’s move followed a stakeholder meeting convened under the CoS to review Nigeria’s preparedness and develop strategies against the possible importation of Ebola into the country., the statement informed that the Task Force would also intensify passenger screening at all international airports through enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control protocols.
Other measures would also include enhanced monitoring of passengers arriving through high-risk airline routes, including Air Uganda, Rwanda Air, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines; and the immediate activation of referral and isolation centres at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports to follow.
Other measures include the mandatory activation of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers originating from or transiting through designated high-risk countries, as well as the disinfection of departure halls, cargoes, baggage areas and airport facilities as precautionary environmental measures.
The President also directed the advisory group to consult with security, diplomatic and aviation bodies on regulating flights from affected and designated high-risk countries and mandated the task force to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to enable controlled screening and isolation procedures, and to consider adjusting flight schedules to minimise interaction between high-risk passengers and other travellers.
Justice Akintoye Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Tuesday ordered the remand of Paul Jibrin Oweleke in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) over alleged cybercrime offences linked to social media broadcasts that allegedly called for overthrow of President Bola Tinubu.
Specifically, Oweleke, in a two-count charge was accused of publishing posts on his online platform known as “Oweleke TV”, urging the Nigerian military to remove the President from office in a manner similar to takeovers in some West African countries, an act the agency said bordered on incitement and the use of a computer system to disseminate content considered prejudicial to national security and constitutional governance.
Oweleke’s broadcasts, the agency stressed, were capable of inciting public disorder and promoting disaffection against the government, which will undermine the country’s democracy.
Legal argument had ensued immediately after Oweleke, pleaded not guilty to the charges, with his lawyer kicking vehemently against the prayer of the agency that the court should order his remand pending the commencement of trial, on the ground that a bail application had already been filed and served on the prosecution.
But Aluko, who was persuaded to grant the prayer, went with the DSS, while adjourning the matter to June 16 for the hearing of the bail application, stating that Oweleke, would remain in the facility of the agency pending the outcome.
By June 29 all medical doctors in public hospitals in Nigeria will drop their stethoscopes and other instruments of healthcare, unless the Federal Government settles all unpaid allowances, salary arrears, delayed training funds, and worsening welfare concerns of its members across the country’s health sector.
This was the notice served to the government on Monday, through The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the umbrella under which the doctors operate, after rising from Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) held in Kano.
In the 21-day ultimatum to the government, the doctors warned that it would not be able to guarantee industrial harmony if the issues remain unresolved within the 21-day period.
In the resolution conveying their position, signed by Mohammad Suleiman, President, Shuaibu Ibrahim, Secretary-General, and Abdulmajid Yahya Ibrahim, Publicity and Social Secretary, on Friday, the body regretted that government had failed to fulfil several commitments to doctors despite repeated assurances and engagements.
“The association hereby declares an industrial dispute with the federal government of Nigeria on the outlined matters above and cannot guarantee industrial harmony after the 21-day window period given to address all the demands,” the communique reads.
The association said it is giving the federal government the 21-day window to commence concrete actions towards the development and implementation of a national healthcare workers assault prevention and response protocol
and the initiation of the necessary legislative process to address the menace.
NARD also demanded the release and payment of the 2026 medical residency training fund (MRTF) to all eligible resident doctors nationwide within the next 21 days.
The association questioned the unpaid salary and promotion arrears in several federal and state health institutions, as well as discrepancies in professional allowances reflected in members’ May 2026 salaries.
It highlighted the welfare issues affecting house officers, including salary delays, unpaid arrears, and difficulties with internship placement and onboarding processes that remain unresolved.
It also accused Motunrayo Omidiran, executive chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), of delaying the issuance of letters of compliance to federal health institutions, noting that the delay has hampered recruitment efforts, manpower shortages, and brain drain in the sector.
NARD expressed worries about the increasing assaults, harassment, intimidation, and violent attacks against doctors while on duty, demanding the arrests, investigation, and prosecution of perpetrators.
It called for the establishment of a national healthcare workers’ assault prevention and response protocol within 21 days by the federal government and security agencies.
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