‘We are in recession because APC is clueless’

PDP Secretariat, Abuja

• Condemns quit notice

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared that the current recession arose from what it called the cluelessness of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.

According to the opposition party, the incoherent policies and incompetence of the ruling party have significantly reduced the size of the Nigerian economy since it took over.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Dayo Adeyeye, accused the present government of mismanaging Africa’s fastest growing economy they met on ground.

Speaking at the 2017 PDP special non-election convention in Abuja at the weekend, former President Goodluck Jonathan had decried the high cost of living in the country under the APC administration, saying Nigeria’s economy would have been robust, had the APC consolidated on the achievements of the PDP.

In swift reactions, National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Bolaji Abdullahi; Special Assistant to the President on media, Garba Shehu; Director General, Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, punctured Jonathan’s claims, pointing out that he left the economy in tatters on May 29, 2015 when he handed over to the party.

But the PDP spokesperson insisted that there are no indices by which the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari can be measured at performing better than any PDP administration since 1999.

“As at May 29, 2015 Nigeria was the largest economy in Africa valued at over $500 billion. Nigeria was the number one destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa. Up to that point, investors responded to the policies designed and implemented by the Jonathan administration by investing billions of dollars in the Nigerian economy.

“The APC-led Federal Government inherited an economy that had grown at an average of 7 per cent per annum for the previous 10 years. However, it has managed to lead the nation to six consecutive quarters of economic recession without a coherent, cogent strategy to bring our economy out of the woods,” Adeyeye stated.

Also yesterday, Chairman of PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jubrin has said that the unity and progress of the nation should not be compromised by unpatriotic elements who champion hate speeches, saying that every Nigerian has the right of residency in any part of the country.

He warned that the call by northern youth for Igbo to quit and the call by militants for northerners and Yoruba to quit the South-south is a joke that must be stopped.

He also asked that the call by Benue youth for the Fulani to quit their land should also be reversed. Walid, in a statement issued in Abuja, said that a true northerner would not support the quit notice that Igbo should leave the north.

He explained that Fulani elders and concern group have met and a delegation under his chairmanship is visiting all parts of the country to reconcile the fulani herdsmen, farmers and various communities.

Warning against hate speeches, Walid said: “I want to advise all against hate speeches, instead, we should find ways and means for unity and peace and allow us have permanent places where ever we are in Nigeria.

“To continue to call for Igbo in the north to quit is enough joke which must stop immediately. Another call from militants in the South-south that northerners and Yoruba should leave must stop.’’