The presidency has replied former Central Bank Governor, Chukwuma Soludo over allegations the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has worsened the Nigerian economy saying rather, Buhari’s administration has ended the bleeding of the nation.
Spokesperson for Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, in a statement, said, “Nigerians have demonstrated that they know the Buhari administration inherited a sorry state of the economy but is working diligently to fix it with positive results now emerging.
“What even Former CBN Governor Soludo cannot deny is the fact that the Buhari administration has ended the bleeding of the nation and is implementing reforms.
“The Buhari administration is spending more on infrastructure at a time when resources are lean. When we had abundant revenues what happened was profligacy and plunder.”
Soludo had said: “Nigeria is now, some say a fragile state, some say a failed state; it is not going to be a tea-party to come out but unfortunately, we are not taking it serious.
“Nigeria is not just in recession but in a massive economic compression; it will be a miracle for the present APC administration to return this country to the dollar size it met in May 29, 2015, if it stays for 8 years, that’s till 2023.
“It is business as usual; propaganda, lies, double-speak. Current government is fighting corruption, insecurity, but we say to them, enough of the blame gain.
“They inherited a bad situation but they have made it several times worst; getting us out here is not a tea-party like I said before. Nigerians should rise in unity; it should no longer be ‘let them’; only united citizens can rescue Nigeria out of this position.”
The former Governor of CBN took a swipe at the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government saying it has been business as usual and that it will be a miracle it (the administration) returns the dollar size to its value on May 29, 2015.
He spoke in Enugu at an interactive Forum, titled “Big Ideas Podium”, which was organized by the African Heritage Institution.
He said, “Nigeria is now, some say a fragile state, some say a failed state; it is not going to be a tea-party to come out but unfortunately, we are not taking it serious.
The Ex-CBN boss, while stressing the need for what he called ‘Citizen United’, as a panacea to the present situation, urged the masses the take the government into account for all the promises made before the election.
“My idea is that of Citizen United; we won’t get the leadership that we deserve; we won’t get the leadership that we want; we will get the leadership that we demand.
“They gave us manifestoes, promised a lot and we said ‘yea’; how many have gone back to check how far them are implementing those promises; if any party implements 25 percent of its manifesto, Nigeria will get better.
“If you check any State run by APC, PDP or APGA, the three parties that have Governors, can you see spot any difference in any of those States that will distinguish one party from another, it is the same.
“APC said in its manifesto that it will restructure Nigeria, that Nigeria was not one, but after election, has anybody heard about it (restructuring) again? They control 23 States and the National Assembly, all they need is one more State to get the required 2/3; so they have what it takes, but they are not talking about it again.
“If we don’t rise to hold them by the jugular, Nigeria cannot go anywhere. We have to start preparing for a post-oil economy; insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over again and expect different result”, he further stated.
He further used the event to lambast the Federal Government for unleashing security agencies on various protesters across the country, especially the pro-Biafra groups, insisting that they had every right under the Constitution to express their feelings.
“People have right under the Constitution to protest within the law; the duty of the police is to give the protesters protection.
“Killing innocent citizens simply because they expressed their feelings are wrong; no citizen of Nigeria should be killed for no just cause; we don’t condone violence, but government should protect its people; once you remove freedom of expression, democracy is gone.”
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