Politics
Reforms: Atiku asks Tinubu to learn from Argentina, says ‘willing’ to discuss with govt
Former Vice President has called on President Bola Tinubu to learn some lessons from the approach to reforms adopted by President Javier Milei of Argentina.
Atiku said this in a press release Sunday, noting that “President Javier Milei of Argentina was sworn into office on 10 December 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.”
Significantly, Atiku said the Argentina’s approach is similar to his reform agenda, adding, “I am more than willing to disclose details of its workings with the current government in order to take Nigeria out of the depth of hunger and anger”.
The full text of the former vice president’s statement titled: Argentina’s Javier Milei approach to reforms should serve as a lesson for Tinubu, says, “I read a recent report in Reuters titled: Argentina’s market double 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.
Atiku continued, “President Javier Milei of Argentina was sworn into office on 10 December 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.
Atiku noted that “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.
He recalled that , “President Milei’s major campaign promise was to reposition the Argentine economy after years of slow growth, high debt levels, triple-digit inflation (160% when he took over the Presidency in December 2023) and 40% 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 stabilization 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.
“Argentina’s Milei did not build the largest government like Tinubu did at a time when our economy was and still on its knees.
“The examples set by President Milei are the requirement of leadership in a time when the economy has begun to fail the expectations of the people.
“The reforms so far implemented by the Tinubu administration are ad hoc and hurriedly put together without proper review. Ours is unlike Argentina’s Milei, who is sequencing his reforms.
“President Milei anticipates the after-reform shocks and admits that things will be tough for the people. But he is fully prepared for the aftershocks and has in place mitigating pills.
“He walks the talk. He makes sacrifices himself by giving up perks of office.
“It is not business-as-usual for the presidency while the people are called upon to make sacrifices.
“Argentina runs a lean government by reducing the number of ministries, privatizing nearly 40 state-owned enterprises, and reducing wasteful spending.
“Conversely, Tinubu in Nigeria increased the number of ministers and ministries and is spending enormous resources renovating houses for himself, his deputy, and the first lady.
“That is nothing short of Nero playing fiddle while Rome is on fire!
“Worse still, Tinubu has refused to roll up his sleeves and do the work that he signed up for. Instead, he and his team are preoccupied with behaving like Napoleon and Squealer, characters in the satire book Animal Farm, who made it a state policy scapegoating Snowball (the opposition) for their own failures arising from their ill-advised policies.
“I am attracted to the reforms in Argentina because Javier Milei’s stabilization plan bears a similar emblem with my Recover Nigeria Plan.
“It is a plan that I am more than willing to disclose details of its workings with the current government in order to take Nigeria out of the depth of hunger and anger that we find ourselves in.
“The plan includes strategic steps we must take to recover the economy and make it stronger, dynamic, resilient, and competitive.
“We had outlined plans to relax the fiscal constraints facing us to include:
Improving Spending Efficiency and Blocking Leakages
Saving money through:
a. A review of fiscal support for non-performing government enterprises and the privatization of those that can not sustain themselves.
b. Steps to improve spending efficiency through a gradual reduction in government recurrent expenditures, ensuring that those expenditures reflect higher levels of service delivery. Over the medium term, recurrent expenditures should not exceed 45% of the budget.
c. A review of government procurement processes to ensure high levels of transparency, competitiveness, and value-for-money and eliminate all leakages.
“Unless, and until there are clear-cut policies and pathway to economic rejuvenation predicated on a leadership led sacrifice, there will be discontentment, especially among the youths, which may find expression in protests and for which it will be silly to continue to blame the opposition for.”
The Senate has announced the defection of three more senators from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmakers are Senator Amos Yohanna of Adamawa North, Senator Aminu Iya Abbas of Adamawa Central, and Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis of Zamfara Central.
Their defection letters were read on the floor of the Senate during plenary on Tuesday by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
The senators cited internal crises within the PDP in their respective states as the major reason for their decision to join the APC.
Following the latest defections, the number of APC senators has risen to eighty-three, while the PDP’s representation has dropped to nineteen. Other parties’ representation stands at: Labour Party – zero; NNPP – one; SDP – one; ADC – four; and APGA – one.
Commenting on the wave of defections, the Senate President described it as a sign that the country is moving in the right direction. He recalled that the Senate under the 8th Assembly had lost 34 APC members to the PDP, but noted that the situation has now reversed.
He stated that the PDP has emptied itself into the ruling party, adding that he agreed with the Senate Leader that something must be right somewhere.
Akpabio credited the development to economic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, including the harmonisation of foreign exchange rates, the removal of fuel subsidy, and measures aimed at strengthening fiscal management.
He also noted that the reforms have reduced the need for state governments to rely heavily on borrowing while helping to place Nigeria on what he described as a trajectory of economic growth.
The immediate National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has dragged the party before the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State.
Although the reason for taking the APC court has not been ascertained as at the time of filing this report, the court log showed that the case between Omisore and the APC came up on Monday, March 02, 2026, in suit number FHC/OS/CS/261/2025.
The document showed that the case was filed in 2025, with sources noting that the case might be related to the gubernatorial Primary of the APC, which produced Mr. Bola Oyebamiji as the consensus candidate of the party.
Omisore, alongside six other aspirants, were disqualified by the All Progressives Congress Screening Committee from contesting in the Osun State governorship primary held on December 13, 2025.
The committee cited gaps and irregularities in their nomination processes.
It stated that the aspirants—former Osun State Deputy Governor Omisore, Babatunde Haketer Oralusi, Oyedotun Babayemi, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, Benedict Alabi, Adegoke Rasheed Okiki, and Sen. Babajide Omoworare—did not submit proof of sponsorship from at least five fully registered and financially current party members from each Local Government Area in Osun State, as stipulated by Articles 9.3(i) and 31.2(ii) of the APC Constitution and Paragraph 6(c) of the party guidelines.
Following their disqualification, Omisore accused the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, of masterminding their disqualification and that of the six other gubernatorial aspirants for the Osun State election.
In a video obtained by our reporter, Omisore, who was flanked by Alabi, Ogunbiyi, Adegoke, Omoworare and Oralusi, alleged that the panel chairman confirmed that he was pressured by Oyetola to disqualify them.
He described the screening committee report as a joke taken too far.
He said, “The panel report is the most ridiculous report of this year. It is quite unfortunate that people are taking partisanship beyond politics.
“As we speak today, none of us has seen the report to know why we were disqualified. When you disqualified people like us from any contest, where do you go from there?
“The chairman of the first panel called us to say that Mr. Gboyega Oyetola called him to say that he must disqualify us because his poster boy, Bola Oyebamiji, must win.
“We’ve met the appeal panel, and I asked them what the basis for our disqualification was. They should have used another tactic.”
Meanwhile, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress in Ife Federal Constituency has reportedly slammed the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy over what they described as the imposition of the deputy governorship candidate of the party, Mr. Kayode Adereti.
The party leaders, during a meeting with Omisore on Monday, reportedly said Oyetola did not consult with them before picking Adereti as the running mate to Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, the candidate of the party for the August 15 gubernatorial election.
The leaders expressed the regret that another “imposition by Mr OYETOLA was capable of causing disaffection between the leadership of Ife caucus on one hand and problems between Ife North and Ife Central on the other hand.”
The elders reportedly rose from the meeting to dissociate themselves from the imposition of the Deputy Governorship candidate and chastised the former governor for the militarisation of Osun politics.
Efforts to get the reaction of Omisore to the court document proved abortive as calls put across to him were not connecting as at the time of this report.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court Abuja delivered by justice James Omotosho which stopped the Peoples Democratic Party November 15 and 16 national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State that produced Tanimu Turaki, as the National Chairman of the party.
A three-member panel of the appellate court, chaired by Mohammed Danjuma agreed with the lower court that there was no proper conduct of congresses before the convention.
The also dismissed the argument of Turaki faction that the issues bordered on internal affairs of the party.
Earlier in the judgment, the panel dismissed the argument of the PDP faction led by Tanimu Turaki that the Federal High Court judge,Justice James Omotosho lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit against the Ibadan Convention on that grounds that the issues bordered on internal affairs of the party.
The preliminary objections raised by the respondents, faction loyal to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike that Chris Uche is not a proper legal counsel to represent PDP has been dismissed by the court on the grounds that the former PDP National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade was suspended by the party’s National Working Committee NWC.
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