The media war between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the achievements of the PDP-led administration, is yet to abate, as the PDP has attributed the current economic recession to the cluelessness of the APC.
Specifically, the ruling party said a combination of incoherent policies and incompetence of the ruling party have significantly shrunk the size of the Nigerian economy since the party assumed office.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP National Caretaker Committee on Tuesday, Dayo Adeyeye, accused the present government of mismanaging Africa’s fastest growing economy they met on ground.
Speaking at the 2017 PDP Special Non-Election Convention in Abuja at the weekend, immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan had decried the high cost of living in the country under the APC administration, saying Nigeria’s economy would have been robust, had the APC-led government consolidated on the achievements of the PDP.
In swift reactions, National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Bolaji Abdullahi; Special Assistant to the President on media, Garba Shehu; Director General, Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, punctured Jonathan’s claims, pointing out that he left the economy in tatters on May 29, 2015 when he handed over to the party.
But the PDP spokesperson insisted that there are no indices by which the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari can be measured at performing better than any PDP administration since 1999.
“As at May 29th, 2015 Nigeria was the largest economy in Africa valued at over $500billion. As at May 29th, 2015 Nigeria was the No 1 destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa. Up to that point, investors responded to the policies designed and implemented by the Jonathan administration by investing billions of Dollars in the Nigerian economy.
“However, since the inauguration of the Buhari administration investors have voted with their feet having been discouraged by the inchoate and incoherent policies being implemented by the APC-led Federal Government.
“The Jonathan administration maintained a single digit inflation rate for several years. Inflation stood at 9.6% at the inception of the Buhari administration. The incompetence of the current economic management team has resulted in inflation rising as high as 18.72% in January 2017 before settling at 16.1% in July 2017. This had led to the skyrocketing of the price of goods, services and food items thereby making staples unaffordable to millions of Nigerians.
“It is not a coincidence that the last time Nigerians had to deal with the current level of widespread hunger and lack was when President Muhammadu Buhari held sway as military Head of State between 1984 and 1985.
“The APC led Federal Government inherited an economy that had grown at an average of 7% per annum for the previous 10 years. Indeed, when President Buhari spoke at the Chatham House in February 2015, he admitted that the Nigerian economy had experienced growth for several years. At the time, several global economic experts projected Nigeria to be among the top 7 growing economies in the world in 2016.
“However, the APC led Federal Government has managed to lead the nation to six consecutive quarters of economic recession without a coherent, cogent strategy to bring our economy out of the woods,” Adeyeye stated.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
