National Bureau of Statistics says Nigeria has officially exited recession. But that doesn’t mean tough times are over, says chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun.
So National Bureau of Statistics says Nigeria has officially exited recession. But that doesn’t mean tough times are over, says chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun.
He spoke at the weekend in an address to the second plenary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria at St. Charles Borromeo Pastoral Centre in Jalingo, Taraba State.
The APC national chairman said the exit from recession only pointed to the direction of improvement in the welfare of all citizens as the benefit of economic growth and exiting recession trickled down the economic chain.
He also said the party was still working very hard to fulfil its campaign promises which focused on the fight against corruption, stabilising the economy and restoration of peace and security in the country.
He said the economy has started responding to the policy initiatives of the government as evidenced in the improvement and stability of the naira exchange rate; increase in the country’s foreign reserves and the recent announcement by the NBS that the country has officially come out of recession.
He said the economy is being diversified and the output from the non-oil sector is steadily increasing, stating that the economy went into recession because of the bad condition in which the APC administration took over the country.
He recalled that the national economy which after rebasing was rated the largest in Africa had suffered serious damage and was almost prostrate when the APC administration took over in May 2015.
He added that the situation was compounded by the collapse of the price of crude oil; increased militancy in the Niger Delta which resulted in sharp decrease in the volume of crude oil exported; lack of savings by past administrations for the rainy day and non-investment in infrastructure that underpinned the economy.
Chief Odigie-Oyegun said that despite spirited efforts to discredit the ongoing fight against corruption, the war is progressing satisfactorily and being won.
