The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari, has assured Nigerians of succour from the effects of the nation’s current economic troubles.
In a statement signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO), Garba Shehu, the APC observed the “panicky and uncoordinated management of the national economy by President Goodluck Jonathan and his economic team”.
“It is apparent that the Federal Government has suddenly found itself in a bind with plummeting crude oil prices in the international market, but typical of a team that lacks capacity for anticipatory actions, the Federal Government has been running from pillar to post in a vain bid to stabilize the economy. Unfortunately, all conceived palliatives applied to save the nation’s declining economic indicators have merely scrapped the surface of the problems leaving the mass of Nigerians desperate, confused and hungrier.”
The team said the nation’s debt profile under the current Federal Government grew exponentially even while the country recorded the highest revenue accrued from impressive crude oil prices over a five-year period before the downward spiral of international oil prices.
“With external debt standing at more than $10 billion and our internal debts at more than $5 0billion, it is without doubt that President Jonathan is driving Nigeria into economic wilderness. This should be a cause for concern for all well-meaning Nigerians, more so when the Federal Government responses to these rising economic challenges have, at best, been casual.
“Emblematic of this casual, non-profound approach to the management of the national economy is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s devaluation of the national currency in November 2014 while retaining the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS). Dramatically, just under three months after that devaluation, the CBN, obviously buffeted by unanticipated dynamics in the foreign exchange market, announced the closure of the RDAS and the Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS). This shows clearly an uncoordinated template in the management of the national economy,” the statement by Mr. Shehu said.
He added that the mismanagement of the economy by the Federal Government is turning Nigerians into economic derelicts, a people incapable of living up to required standards of existence, but help is on the way.
“Though we are conscious of the dire economic strait the Federal Government has pushed Nigerians into, we can assure the mass of Nigerian people that help is on the way. We know that an APC controlled Federal Government will obviously inherit a huge debt profile and an empty treasury from this PDP Federal Government. We are confident of turning the situation around.
“For our presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, it is a walk back through history. Recall that the Nigerian economy at this time shares characteristics with the Nigerian economy of 1983 when he took charge of the reign of government on a rescue mission. The Naira was weak, crude oil prices were plummeting just as the national treasury – coupled with a heavy debt profile. Hopefully, APC will turn the nation’s economy around.
“Our party’s economic policies are consciously conceived to be people-centred. For the first time in over three decades, Nigeria will experience a truly pro-people Federal Government. This is our commitment to the mass of our people, help is on the way, they should not despair,” the statement said.
APC campaign restated Mr. Buhari’s commitment to end profligacy, mismanagement of the nation’s revenue which is dwindling by the day and block leakages with a view to saving needed funds to drive an APC-led government’s economic and infrastructure development.
“It is crystal clear that our revenues are dwindling by the day and if we must survive, we cannot continue on this path of near absence of accountability, mismanagement, outright waste and jamboree that has characterised the management of public resources under the Jonathan-led PDP government. General Buhari by his antecedents will run a lean government that will free resources to be deployed to his envisaged government’s interventions in critical infrastructure and economic development.”
