Sell Out or Hero? Nigerians React as BudgIT’s Oluseun Onigbinde Becomes Technical Adviser in Buhari’s Government

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Seun Onigbinde receives appointment as Technical adviser for Ministry of Budget and National Planning in Nigeria
Seun Onigbinde receives appointment as Technical adviser for Ministry of Budget and National Planning in Nigeria

The Lead Partner of budgIT, Oluseun Onigbinde, has seemingly deleted his Twitter account after accepting an appointment to join the current administration as a Technical Adviser in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

Seun (as most people prefer to call him online) worked with Access bank for a year and later with First Bank for three years. According to him, he got the idea for budgIT while working with First bank. BudgIT was formed with a partner to meet a need to publicise government spending to the general public.

budgIT
budgIT

Seun has been known to actively denounce the current administration’s policies on Twitter. And so, his recent appointment as a member of the same administration has left many a Nigerian shocked.

As Seun continues to trend on Twitter, most of the reactions assume that he deleted his account in order to avoid the expected online vitriol. Particularly from people who believe he should have declined the offer based on his convictions.

However, not all of the reactions have called Seun out. Some Nigerians believe that he made the right decision by stepping up from criticising the government to helping the government fix its issues.

https://twitter.com/LifeOfRouvafe/status/1172431157469700097

In a statement made by the Communication Associate of budgIT, Shakir Akorede, he clarified that Seun did not and would not leave Twitter.

I know Seun. He would never run away from Twitter. It was a platform on which he talked about governance issues. He didn’t delete his Twitter account, it might have been deactivated. “

Shakir Akorede, Communications Associate of budgIT

Seun has since addressed the reactions to his appointment in a tweet released on his new handle.

As he continues to trend, mixed reactions keep pouring in from Nigerians who think Seun’s appointment is a ticket to selfish ambitions and not a sincere desire to effect the change Nigerians hope for. Oluseun Onigbinde’s actions going forward will tell.


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