Onaolapo Soleye

Onaolapo Soleye is a Nigerian scholar and former Minister of Finance during the military regime of General Muhammadu Buhari. He was also a former commissioner for Finance and Industry in Ogun State. He sits on the board of the Obasanjo Presidential Library.

Education

Dr Soleye attended Baptist Boys’ High School, Abeokuta, one of the earliest secondary school established in Nigeria. He trained as a Sociologist and studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science and University of Manchester.^[1]

Soleye's major policy actions during his tenure as Minister of Finance include:

• Policies preventing drastic devaluation of the Naira
• Refinancing of trade debt arrears insured by international organizations
• Supported the rationalization and restriction of imports
• Did not stop the trend of budget deficit financing
• Creating of new Naira notes to halt currency smuggling

References

• "Obasanjo Farms Withdraws From Okitipupa Oil Palm Board", Daily Trust, January 21, 2002

1. Berendsen, Bernard. Asian Tigers, African Lions: Comparing the Development Performance of Southeast Asia and Africa. BRILL, 2013. pp. 167 – 168. ISBN 9789004260009.