FACT CHECK: Did Tinubu pioneer ECONET, TSA, economic summit in Nigeria?
A Facebook post by one Tokunbo AremoOdua has been shared across other platforms and forwarded on WhatsApp many times. The post claimed that the All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu initiated ECONET, Treasury Single Account (TSA), tax digitalization, Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) and economic summit to proffer solutions for economic prosperity in […]
A Facebook post by one Tokunbo AremoOdua has been shared across other platforms and forwarded on WhatsApp many times.
The post claimed that the All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu initiated ECONET, Treasury Single Account (TSA), tax digitalization, Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) and economic summit to proffer solutions for economic prosperity in Nigeria.
It also claimed that Tinubu was the first and last governor to govern his state for years without federal allocation during the Obasanjo Administration.
As of the time of this report, the post had amassed about 317 likes, 69 shares, and 247 comments and has reached multiple groups on WhatsApp.
Verification
Checks by Daily Trust revealed that while Tinubu played a role in the evolution of ECONET in Lagos State, it does not mean he brought ECONET to Nigeria. He was Governor of Lagos State when the federal government auctioned the telecommunication network through the Nigeria Communication Commission. Lagos was mentioned as one of the two states that supported the licence fee financially.
Victor Asemota, a popular tech twitter influencer also stated that “Lagos state was only involved in its founding through the acquisition of secondary shares, after much deliberations. The then governor did not commit to Cybertel until after Delta State, Oceanic and the Akwa Ibom State government had gotten involved.”
Also the claim that Tinubu introduced the TSA in Nigeria is false. Rather, it was proposed by the federal government in 2012 during the former President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration and was fully implemented by the current administration to consolidate all inflows from all agencies of government into a single account at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Similarly, the claim that the former Lagos State governor started the economic summit in Nigeria is not true. The Nigeria Economic Summit Group was incorporated in 1996 by Chief Ernest Shonekan.
That Tinubu initiated the independent power project in the country is equally false. It was introduced by the federal government to combat the power shortage in the country.
Daily Trust also found the claim that Tinubu was the first and last governor to govern his state (Lagos) for years without federal allocation misleading. The then former President Olusegun Obasanjo-led government only withheld the local government funds of Lagos State when Tinubu created LCDAs against the approval of the federal government.
However, a claim in the post that Tinubu pioneered LCDA is true
Conclusion
Daily Trust can confirm that while it is true that Tinubu created LCDA, he was not the pioneer of other initiatives contained in the claims made by the author of the post. Therefore, the claims are largely false.
This fact check was done in partnership with the Center for Democracy and Development (CDD)