A group of youths from across local governments in Nasarawa State have thrown their weight behind the candidacy of celebrated economist and former Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Odonye Jackson as minister in the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu.
Even though he has been highly recommended for the plum job based on his cognate experience and track record, the youths under the aegis of Nasarawa Youth Advancement Forum reiterated that Mr Odonye Osana Jackson is best suited for the cabinet that President Tinubu has promised Nigerians.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has promised Nigerians an all-inclusive government that represents all shades of interest, cutting across party politics, ethnic, religious and gender identities.
And in a statement signed by the duo of Ibrahim Umar and Abubakar Mohammed as President and Secretary General of the group, the youths emphasized that since Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda is to create a better Nigeria to the envy of all, where competent technocrats could showcase their skills and expertise, “then Mr Odonye Jackson is a round peg in round hole, suited for the proposed cabinet”.
According to the youths, “as the political cloud gets clearer, Nigerians at home and the diaspora expect to see more of technocrats than professional politicians driving the renewed hope agenda for Nigeria”.
They posited that: “The choice of Odonye Osana Jackson, ex-IMF technocrat from Nasarawa State is no doubt a fit for purpose according to the stakeholders routing for his nomination.
“The President would find him a discovery because of his industry experience, and the quest to aggregate a team of experts in the new administration that will man or superintend key sectors of the economy, head-hunted within the country and the diaspora”.
Odonye presently consults in the fields of finance and development economics for governments, notably in developing and emerging economies, having reached the pinnacle of his career as Alternate Executive Director at the IMF, as well as Director at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
They stated that, “with Odonye’s expertise in monetary and fiscal policy, the Tinubu administration will no doubt find him useful in helping to re-oxygenate and rejuvenate the nation’s comatose economy”.
The nominee is a celebrated Washington DC based Senior Consultant, Odonye presently offers policy advice to several countries on monetary economics, fiscal policy and development finance; and interacts with key policymakers, including officials of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, to enhance a robust macroeconomic stability, sustainable and inclusive growth.
His major focus has been to enhance the quality of country engagement with technical partners and building interests of the authorities to address key macroeconomic challenges.
Speaking on the issue, a retired banker with the First Bank of Nigeria noted that Odonye is particularly proficient in providing coherent fiscal and monetary policy frameworks; and matched structural reforms, targeted to the peculiarities of individual countries to achieve the needed economic growth and sustainability.
“A man who previously held the position of Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund; who served as a Director at the Central Bank of Nigeria is the suitable technocrat that can help the President deliver on his renewed hope agenda”. He further told the Maritime First, that Odonye had prior distinguished experience as Principal Economist at the West African Monetary Institute, as well as Associate Professional Officer both at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the Nairobi based General Secretariat of the Africa Regional Agricultural Credit Association.
He further revealed that for over a decade, Odonye had been involved in independent evaluation and policy guidance, to foster global financial and monetary cooperation; secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth.
Born on January 2, 1962, Odonye is a trained economist and stable hand to behold. During his days as Executive Director and IMF Board Member, he played crucial collaborative role for conducting the day-to-day policy operations of the global institution, navigating the major challenges facing economies in the world, including the recent COVID-19 pandemic and associated recession.
His additional accomplishments included the task of joint representation and advocacy by a team of three, who represented the interests of 23 African countries, including the home country, Nigeria in the Africa Group of countries in the Washington-based IMF.
Acknowledging Asiwaju Tinubu’s dexterity in the selection of high calibre cabinet for quality performance and delivery, the Nasarawa youth body stated that Odonye meticulously undertook ad-hoc tasks and represented at least, four respective IMF Executive Directors in their absence.
“But his great skills showed when he led a high-performance team on international economic relations and successfully engaged the key stakeholders on economic cooperation between Nigeria and the rest of world.
