Economy in shambles under Buhari, PDP claims

FROM TAIWO AMODU, ABUJA

The Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP) has passed a damning verdict on the All Progres­sives Congress led federal government. Appraising the first 90 days of the President Muhammadu Buhari admin­istration, National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh in a statement yes­terday claimed that the ad­ministration has done enor­mous damage to the nation’s economy since it took office at the center.

The main opposition par­ty premised its judgment on what it called “ the shambolic state of the nation’s economy within the period, which repre­sents the worst in the nation’s contemporary history,” and further attributed it to “a direct fallout of uncertainty created by the inability of the Buhari-led government to chart a clear-cut economic policy, worsened by abuse of regula­tions, and flagrant violation of constitutional provisions.”

Metuh, in the statement said: “Instead of gains, offi­cial reports show that the past three months under the APC-led government has brought a sudden decline in the na­tion’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with attendant losses and hardship to the citizens, while the government em­barks on propaganda of imagi­nary achievements, in addition to attempts to foist a harsh economic regime to cover its ineptitude.

“If not for crass incompe­tence or a possible ulterior motive to subjugate Nigerians for selfish reasons, what else explains the adamant stance of this administration in run­ning a government without the statutory components of a full cabinet and precise fiscal policy direction, even when the negative consequences of this strange totalitarian ap­proach are taking serious toll on the economy and the polity in general?

“Whereas the APC-led gov­ernment is busy with its propa­ganda of imaginary achieve­ments, official reports from the National Bureau of Statis­tics show that the economy is being grounded with Nigeria’s real gross domestic product (GDP) plunging with about 2.3 per cent, while job creation has dropped by 69 per cent.

“In the last three months under an inept and poorly coordinated APC-led govern­ment, our nation’s economy, which before now, held the record as the largest in Africa and one of the fastest growing in the world, suddenly plum­meted as officially evidenced in the lull in the capital and money market sectors, which have lost billions of naira; spiral rate of inflation, and stagnation in domestic and foreign direct investments, with investors scared away due to the uncertainty arising from lack of economic direc­tion and apparent confusion in the polity.

“This is in addition to the halt in infrastructure develop­ment projects in most parts of the country with associated massive job loss, closure of auxiliary small scale busi­nesses, low purchasing power of citizens, among other neg­atives that have bedeviled the economy since the coming of this government, despite the much APC celebrated prom­issory notes from the Presi­dent’s diplomatic shuttles, es­pecially his recent visit to the United States. “Nigerians are no longer in doubt that they have been scammed with long list of empty promises which the APC government has no intentions or capacity to fulfill. The free meals for school children, allowances for discharged corps mem­bers, N5,000 monthly allow­ance for indigent Nigerians, free houses, bringing the dol­lar to the same value as the naira and other bogus prom­ises for which they were vot­ed into power, have become streams of mirage.

Metuh said Nigerians had become tired of diversions and propaganda of creating imaginary achievements and dramatization of routine ap­pointments.