President Bola Tinubu has established a 31-member Presidential Financial Coordination Council, including himself, the Vice President, the Senate President, and the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum. Additionally, a 19-member Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce has been formed. This task force will meet twice weekly and present a comprehensive six-month economic intervention plan for 2024.
The Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce, whose formation was approved by the Federal Executive Council on Monday, is expected to immediately implement the plan within two weeks of its inauguration, as directed by the President.
The Emergency Taskforce, which includes ministers, governors, members of the economic management team, and private sector representatives, will report to the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, chaired by Tinubu.
The newly established Presidential Economic Coordination Council, which includes ministers, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, among others, also includes private sector leaders such as Aliko Dangote and Tony Elumelu, who serve for one year.
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The move, described as part of the administration’s efforts to revamp the country’s economic governance framework, follows the creation of an economic advisory committee earlier in February. Tinubu’s administration has implemented various measures, including discontinuing fuel subsidies and unifying exchange rates, aimed at infrastructural development and financial stability despite initial challenges such as currency fluctuations and rising food prices.
Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, highlighted the establishment of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council and the Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce as strategic initiatives to ensure robust and coordinated economic planning and implementation to address prevailing challenges.
The Economic Management Team, previously chaired by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, will now operate as a working group under the Presidential Economic Coordination Council’s purview. Additionally, all meetings of the Economic Management Team will be suspended for the duration of the Emergency Taskforce’s six-month mandate.
Ngelale underscored that the creation of these teams reflects a unified strategy aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s economic management structure for improved performance, complementing existing economic governance structures, including the National Economic Council chaired by the Vice President.
