The presidency has finally admitted that the economy has proven to be one of the biggest problems facing President Muhammadu Buhari since he came to power in May 2015.
The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo made this disclosure in a national broadcast to commemorate the nation’s Democracy Day and second anniversary of Buhari’s administration.
This admittance came barely one year when Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, during a conference at Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State in May, 2016 told the world that Buhari was not grounded in the economy but “he is doing well in his fight against corruption and the battle against insurgency”.
“PMB served under me and I know him a little bit. He hasn’t deviated from what I knew him for. Actually he is not a perfect man, indeed no leader can be perfect,” Obasanjo was quoted as saying.
“Buhari might not be grounded in both the economy and foreign affairs, he is doing well in fighting Boko Haram and in his anti-corruption crusade.’’
While speaking, presumably in reply to Obasanjo, the Acting President stated that he is concerned about the harsh impact of unfavorable economic conditions on Nigerians.
He said, “Admittedly, the economy has proven to be the biggest challenge of all. Let me first express just how concerned we have been, since this administration took office, about the impact of the economic difficulties on our citizens.
“Through no fault of theirs, some companies shut down their operations, others downsized; people lost jobs, had to endure rising food prices.
” In some states, civil servants worked months on end without the guarantee of a salary, even as rents and school fees and other expenses continued to show up like clockwork.
“We have been extremely mindful of the many sacrifices that you have had to make over the last few years. And for this reason this administration’s work on the economic front has been targeted at a combination of short-term interventions to cushion the pain, as well as medium to long term efforts aimed at rebuilding an economy that is no longer helplessly dependent on the price of crude oil.
“Those short-term interventions include putting together a series of bailout packages for our State Governments, to enable them bridge their salary shortfalls – an issue the President has consistently expressed his concerns about. We also began the hard work of laying out a framework for our Social Intervention Programme, the most ambitious in the history of the country.”
