President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday at the State House while playing host to participants of the Senior Executive Course 37 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) said that the current economic recession in the country is s product of bad management of the nation’s resources by past administrations.
He said, “In the last one and half years of this administration, the economy has experienced some tough times, particularly with the decline in oil revenues, which has some harsh impacts on Nigerians at the grassroots. It is also important to note that the economic recession is not the making of this administration, but rather a consequence of bad management of the economy in the past couple of decades. Nor is recession limited to Nigeria – there are far, far worse cases than Nigeria.
“Whatever the scale of the problem the important thing is how one tackles it. Accordingly, this administration is committed to finding lasting solutions to our economic structural imbalance. Let us have faith in our great nation that we will come out of this recession vibrant and strong. I am glad that the report presented today has given us reason to keep faith in our ability to overcome our challenges.”
He again blamed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Nigeria’s economic woes.
He said: “For 16 years and eight consecutive governments of the other party…there was unprecedented revenue realised, the oil projection which can be verified was 2.1 million barrels per day. From 1999-2015 the average cost of each Nigerian barrel of oil was $100 per barrel.
“When we came it fell to less than $30 per barrel and is now between 40 and 50. Actually I felt like absconding because 27 out of 36 states in Nigeria cannot pay salaries and and we know they have no other source than to depend on salaries.
“And I asked any savings? I was told there were no savings. And I asked what have you done on agriculture, power, rails, roads? Nothing. You know more than I do because you move around. I have not been moving around since after elections but you do. How many of the Trunk A (federal) roads are still good enough?
“How much power do we have although there are some elements of sabotage. I was told the money was users to import food and fuel. I didn’t believe the answer and I still don’t believe it. Until now substantial number of people in the east eat garri and groundnut, in the west pounded yam, cassava, vegetables, in the north tuwo which is made from any of the grains, millet, sorghum. They eat it in the night and warm it in the morning and eat it and take fura dinunu in the afternoon. How many of those people can afford foreign food?
“Then they said I should check out the petroleum sector. The legislature dedicated 445,000 barrels per day to the refineries and that is just 60 per cent of our requirements.
“I said OK, what of the 40 per cent? The marketers that are bringing it just present documents, papers are just stamped and monies are taken away. This is the type of things that the Nigerian elites are doing for our own country. When you go back look at your colleagues and encourage them to be truly Nigerians.”
He commended the participants as he promised that his administration was committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, most especially to ending extreme poverty in Nigeria.
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