Coup: Money Earmarked To Prosecute War In Niger Republic Should Be Used To Increase Minimum Wage, Expert Advises Tinubu

A United States-based financial expert, Kalu Aja has warned that Nigeria may not be able to sustain the war it is starting with Niger Republic.

President Bola Tinubu in a leaked memo ordered the Nigerian Army to proceed to Sokoto State and enforce a no-fly zone in Niger.

The Chiefs of Defence Staff of Togo, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Guinea, Gambia, Cote’Divoire, Cabo Verde, and the Republic of Benin held a meeting on Wednesday in Abuja over the matter.

The order by Tinubu was in response to the coup which took place in Niger Republic last week that ousted Mohamed Bazoum, the country’s elected president.

The Niger coup plotters however warned against ‘military intervention’ by ECOWAS.

Aja in his analysis said Tinubu does not have a fund appropriated by the National Assembly to fund a war.

He said considering economic realities, the country does not have the financial capacity to enforce a no-fly zone in Niger.

He said in his analysis seen by THE WHISTLER, “I don’t believe the President has this authority without NASS appropriation of funds for this action which will cost a lot of money.

“I personally know Nigeria does not have the means or financial resources to enforce a no-fly zone in Niger Republic, where is the aviation fuel?

“Last year bandits inside Nigeria shut down a Nigerian fighter jet, yet we are prepping to cross an international border? With fighter jets?”

Tinubu is facing an internal crisis. The fuel subsidy removal has induced hardship in Africa’s biggest economy leading to a national protest.

The country borrowed $800m from the World Bank as a palliative for subsidy removal.

According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s total debt was N49.85trn as of March 2023, excluding the Ways and Means of N22.7trn.

Also, the country is battling with Boko Haram terrorists in the North as well as farmer-herder crisis. In the South Eastern region, it is faced with separatist agitations.

Aja explained, “Nigerian farmers do not have safe access to farms, this insecurity has led to high inflation in Nigeria caused by high food costs. Similarly, oil exports have been muted due to illegal oil theft inside Nigerian waters.

“A President that has told the Nigerian Labour Congress he inherited a mess and pleads with Nigerians still earning N30,000 as month minimum wage should focus on Nigerians, not Nigeriens.”