President, Bola Tinubu has appointed Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, as the new Chief of Staff; former Deputy Governor of Jigawa State, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, as new Deputy Chief of Staff and Former Minister of Special Duties, George Akume, as new Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The new appointments by the Commander in chief of the Nigerian Armed forces were revealed in a statement released on Friday by the State House Director of Information, Abiodun Oladunjoye.

The statement titled ‘President Tinubu appoints Gbajabiamila COS, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, DCOS, George Akume, SGF’ reads as follows:

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Friday in Abuja announced the appointment of Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff, and Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, a former Deputy Governor of Jigawa State, as Deputy Chief of Staff.

“In a meeting with Progressives Governors Forum, the President also named former Governor of Benue State and immediate past Minister of Special Duties, George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation,” the statement reads.

Recall, in an earlier report, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila had debunked earlier rumors that he was being considered for the role of the chief of staff to the president-elect and that he was considering leaving the legislative chamber for the federal executive arm.

Only in America. Yes, “The US Senate has passed a bipartisan bill to raise the nation’s debt ceiling… averting a potential default on the nation’s obligations.” It is very magical how one country could do this and markets will cheer in ecstasy. If any other country tries it as America does in perpetuity, it will receive downgrades from rating agencies.

The Senate passed the debt ceiling bill late Thursday in a 63-36 vote, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden to sign, and avoiding a potentially calamitous default. The Fiscal Responsibility Act suspends the country’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until 2025 and cuts federal spending. The Treasury Department had indicated that June 5 was the date the government would run out of cash. Biden said he would sign the bill into law as soon as possible, and he is expected to address the nation at 7 p.m. EDT on Friday.

The bill would: End Biden’s freeze on student-loan payments, Accelerate energy and infrastructure projects, and Expand the age/work requirements for those who receive food aid

In business, we call it positioning. It is that state where head, tail and in between, you win. Because of the US dollars, the United States has this positioning that it cannot be affected by debts in ways other countries could be.

In an Igbo novel (Uwadiegwu), the man dropped a great hint: when you borrow, go to your kinsman so that if the debt goes bad, he may lock you up but at the same time he would be expected to take care of your family since he is your kinsman! That is how debts work: pains are lesser when the debt is home. America borrows dollars and they’re responsible for printing dollars. No other country enjoys that combo.

Next year – America will raise the debt ceiling again. And the trajectory continues. You will be jealous of that economic positioning.

The US Senate has passed a bipartisan bill to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and avoid a default on its obligations. The bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, will now go to President Joe Biden for his signature. The US Senate raised the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion, averting a potential default on the nation’s obligations.

Debt ceiling is the legal limit on how much money the federal government can borrow to pay its bills. It covers spending that Congress has already authorized, such as Social Security benefits, military salaries, interest on the national debt and more. The debt ceiling does not authorize new spending; it only allows the government to pay for what it has already agreed to spend.

Comment on Feed

Comment 1: Thank you for this exposé, Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe. The America Empire has always positioned itself to win Head or Tail. Its strategic governance, reliability, openness to criticism, and continuous process of fine-tuning its politico-economic playbook have made it possible to be believed whenever it makes moves like this.

Will this continue forever? I don’t know. But no matter the issue, America will still hold the ace for at least the next 50 years.

Whatever it’s worth, the Debt Market is rejoicing at this news!

Comment 2: Prof, yes we can say it’s positioning because at the time the World needed someone to trust post-World War 2, at Bretten-Woods conference, America proved itself to be trustworthy and based on that trust, Dollars was pegged to Gold and other countries pegged theirs to dollar. However, ever since in 1970s, the gold peg to the dollar was removed by President Nixon, global trade consummated in dollars has continued to boost the dollar.

But it’s just mind blowing the privileges the US enjoy. I once argued with a friend that only in US did I see drama on debt ceiling and investors supposedly bought dollars as their safe haven( Yes you heard right! People struggling to buy the currency of a country that’s about to default in its obligations).

I must commend US either ways as they have shown trust and transparency in managing their exchange rate. Even the world may not trust the BRICS with its reserve as these economies are not free economies and dictatorship are very much common.
America has built strong institutions that rescue nations and companies in time of distress. This act remains lacking in Russia and China where all major help comes directly from government.

My Response: American has done well. Winning anything at a global level is never a birthright. But they need to watch BRICs