The opposition Peoples Democratic Party has railed against President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing his
administration of incompetence, saying he should step down. The party, which is struggling with its own problems, reacted after the nation slipped into economic recession.
“We join all well meaning Nigerians to call on Mr. Buhari to resign if he is unable to reverse the disastrous economic decline he has brought on Nigerians,” the party said hours after figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics confirmed that Nigeria had slipped into recession.
The NBS said Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product contracted by 2.06 per cent, marking the first major recession in 29 years for Africa’s largest economy.
Analysts have long predicted that Nigeria’s economy was heading for a recession amid a shrinking naira and diminishing revenues occasioned by low crude prices.
The downward spiral has led to an increase in the number of Nigerians struggling to eke out a living, fueling fears of an outbreak of social unrest.
Economic experts and religious leaders have raised concerns about the dangers of leaving Nigeria’s expanding youth population without means of livelihood for too long.
The PDP in its statement on Wednesday said the crisis is a direct consequence of Buhari’s “ineptitude and incompetent” approach to economic management which were a rehash of the “archaic and incoherent economic policies” he pursued as the head of a military junta between 1983 and 1985.
“Nothing better showcases the absolute ineptitude and incompetence of the Muhammadu Buhari administration than the GDP, Inflation and unemployment figures released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics today,” the PDP said in a statement signed by Deji Adeyanju, its director of new media.
“The result of these indices is that Nigeria is in its worst economic state for 29 years, dating back to 1987 when the nation had to take steps to recover from President Buhari’s policies of 1984-85.
“As with 1984-85, companies are fleeing our shores in droves. Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) recently stated that 272 companies have shut down in the past one year,” PDP said.
