The Nigerian presidency on Mon said erstwhile President Jonathan handed an economic scheme ravaged past times years of mismanagement together with corruption to President Muhammadu Buhari despite 'the oil sector nail nether his tenure, alongside petroleum prices every bit high every bit 120 dollars together with peace inwards the Niger Delta.'
Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media together with Publicity, stated this inwards a declaration inwards Abuja.
Shehu was reacting to statements credited to erstwhile President Jonathan together with Ahmed Makarfi, the caretaker chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, to the resultant that “under the previous administration, at that topographic point was coin but directly things are really hard.”
The presidential aide said: “It is understandable that Dr Jonathan kept his comments short, because a cursory await at whatever sector clearly indicated that he together with his regime presided over the most monumental together with tragic economical mismanagement recorded inwards our national history.
“The petroleum sector boomed nether his tenure, alongside petroleum prices every bit high every bit 120 dollars together with peace inwards the Nigeria Delta. Nigeria earned unprecedented dollar revenues. Sadly, that is where the story turns sour.
“There is cypher to demonstrate for the revenues earned; no major working capital alphabetic lineament projection was completed, neither ability generation, route development, rails nor agriculture benefited from the windfall earnings.
“Rather, the management presided over the diversion of petroleum revenues on such a massive scale that fifty-fifty without the protection directly accorded to Whistle blowers, the together with thus Central Bank Governor blew non solely a whistle but a trumpet.
“He was hurriedly shown the door.”
Below is the total statement:
Your Excellency Jonathan, this is the economic scheme you lot left behind, inwards instance you lot receive got forgotten: With due respects to the erstwhile President doc Goodluck Jonathan, these are the facts most the economic scheme you lot left behind, inwards instance you lot receive got forgotten.
I promise this volition aid to erase the incorrect declaration credited to you lot at your party, the PDP Convention at the Eagle Square concluding weekend that you lot handed to President Buhari a robustly salubrious economy.
To the same extent, this should also aid to erase yet precisely about other fake declaration past times Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, the Caretaker Chairman of the party, to the resultant that nether the previous management at that topographic point was coin but directly things are really hard.
Let me laid about past times reasserting an obvious statement, which is that the President Muhammadu Buhari management was handed an economic scheme ravaged past times years of mismanagement together with corruption.
It is understandable that doc Jonathan kept his comments short, because a cursory await at whatever sector clearly indicated that he together with his Government presided over the most monumental together with tragic economical mismanagement recorded inwards our national history.
The petroleum sector boomed nether his tenure, alongside petroleum prices every bit high every bit US$ 120 together with peace inwards the Nigeria Delta. Nigeria earned unprecedented dollar revenues. Sadly, that is where the story turns sour. There is cypher to demonstrate for the revenues earned, no major working capital alphabetic lineament projection was completed, neither ability generation, route development, rails or agriculture benefitted from the windfall earnings. Rather the management presided over the diversion of petroleum revenues on a such a massive scale, that fifty-fifty without the protection directly accorded to Whistle blowers, the together with thus Central Bank Governor blew non solely a whistle but a trumpet. He was hurriedly shown the door. Meanwhile, the acquisition past times world officers together with their cohorts of individual jets, luxury yachts together with the accumulation of expensive belongings portfolios world-wide continued unabated. Indeed the President i time celebrated having the largest pose out of individual jets, whilst our youth languished without jobs, our fields stood idle together with our factories began the lay off of workers.
Government precisely reticulated petroleum revenue through personal spending past times corrupt leaders, wasteful expenses and salaries. This was done rather than investing inwards what would grow the economy. Economies grow due to working capital alphabetic lineament investment inwards assets similar seaports, airports, ability plants, railways, roads together with housing. Nigeria tin sack non tape a unmarried major infrastructural projection inwards the concluding 10 years. In brusque the coin was mismanaged.
Such was the looting that fifty-fifty the goose that was laying the golden egg was beingness systematically starved. The straight contractual costs of petroleum produced , inwards the shape of cash calls, remained unpaid. The incoming, President Buhari’s welcome from the petroleum majors included demand for US$6Bn owed past times Nigeria for petroleum that had already been sold or stolen.
At the inception of the electrical flow administration, 21 States were unable to encounter their salary bills together with the specter of workers arrears had commenced. The PDP solution was the raid the Ecological Fund together with selectively grant N2Bn each to the PDP States. It was solely aggressive borrowing past times the Ministry of Finance nether Dr. Okonjo- Iweala that prevented Federal Government from also owing salaries. The economical wisdom of borrowing to pay recurrent bills is a questionable one, peculiarly every bit those paid would receive got included over 45,000 that receive got afterward been removed past times the Buhari led management every bit ghost workers. It also included the lavish costs of chartering individual jets, offset shape go together with other wasteful acts that receive got been eliminated nether this administration.
To chemical compound the work the regime was borrowing heavily together with owed contractors, together with international petroleum companies. When this regime took over nosotros had accumulated debt dorsum to the score it was earlier the Paris Club Debt Forgiveness.
All these factors were edifice upward to Nigeria heading for a major crisis if the toll of petroleum fell. Nigeria did non receive got financial buffers to withstand an petroleum shock.
The petroleum stupor should together with could receive got been foreseen. When Islamic State of Republic of Iraq together with Syria, ISIS crisis started, it was clear that the U.S. of A. of America of America wanted to cutting off funds to terror groups past times crashing the toll of oil. When America granted permission for exploration of petroleum on set down ( Shale) the alarm signs were evident, but these were ignored past times Nigeria’s economical managers.
Such was the looting that fifty-fifty the goose that was laying the golden egg was beingness systematically starved. The straight contractual costs of petroleum produced, inwards the shape of cash calls, remained unpaid. The incoming President Buhari’s welcome from the petroleum majors included demand for US$6Bn owed past times Nigeria for petroleum that had already been sold or stolen.
At the inception of the Buhari administration, 21 States were unable to encounter their salary bills together with the specter of workers arrears had commenced. The PDP solution was to raid the Ecological Fund together with selectively grant N2Bn each to the PDP States. It was solely aggressive borrowing past times the Ministry of Finance that prevented Federal Government from also owing salaries. The economical wisdom of borrowing to pay recurrent bills is a questionable one, peculiarly every bit those paid would receive got included over 45,000 that receive got afterward been removed past times the Buhari led management every bit ghost workers. It also included the lavish costs of chartering individual jets, offset shape go together with other wasteful acts that receive got been eliminated nether this administration.
In summary Nigeria earned a lot of coin when petroleum prices were high but at that topographic point is cypher to demonstrate for it. Now petroleum prices receive got fallen nosotros are suffering.
What could they receive got done differently?
They could receive got begun doing the really things that the Muhammadu Buhari management is doing thus painfully now:
1. Fight corruption.
2. Sanitize the huge salary mouth past times eliminating payroll fraud.
3. Reduce wasteful expenses similar First Class Travel together with Private jets.
4. Encourage State Governments to reform their spending together with construct savings or investments.
5. Increase spending on working capital alphabetic lineament projects especially on infrastructure needed to brand Nigerian businesses competitive together with exercise jobs.
6. Block the leakages that allowed regime revenues to go siphoned into individual hands.
7. Focus on key sectors ( apart from oil) that tin sack exercise jobs together with or generate revenue such every bit Agriculture, Solid Minerals, together with Manufacturing.
If these things had been done when the petroleum toll was every bit high every bit US$120 per barrel, Nigeria would non go inwards the electrical flow predicament.
We would non go suffering directly if nosotros had no cash reserves but nosotros had power, or a rails system, or proficient roads, or proficient housing. But nosotros don’t receive got coin together with nosotros don’t receive got the projects either.
Now that the petroleum has fallen below those levels, it is really hard to exercise what is needed but they must go done to salvage Nigeria. There is no other agency if nosotros desire to go honest.
If PDP were yet inwards ability they would receive got continued deceiving people, past times borrowing to fund stealing together with wastage together with the work would receive got precisely been postponed for hereafter generations to face.
One of erstwhile President Jonathon’s specific boasts is that dollar nether him was N180 compared to today. With such a trace of argument, it is clear why nosotros are where nosotros are. With petroleum prices every bit high every bit $120 the average inflow of dollars each calendar month was high, making it slow to back upward inexpensive dollars. However, alongside petroleum toll plummeting every bit depression every bit $28, the exchange laws of provide together with demand dictated that the currency would involve to accommodate since petroleum was the sole export. It is instructive to annotation that virtually every major petroleum exporter has witnessed currency adjustments alongside the autumn inwards petroleum price.
The Buhari management has taken a long term strategic stance of supporting a stable naira on both the provide together with demand sides. President Buhari has driven Import exchange to trim down demand for dollars to purchase things nosotros tin sack attain thereby creating thousands of rural jobs inwards rice together with other staples. In addition, at that topographic point is a credible conception to diversify our revenue sources away from oil, alongside a focus on export crops every bit good every bit enterprise minerals, alongside the unloosen of US$100M fund to railroad train enterprise mineral extraction.
President Muhammdu Buhari has a positive together with prosperous vision for Nigeria. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 land inwards which the natural talent together with hard operate of the people is beingness supported past times an enabling surroundings for infrastructural evolution together with policy reforms that volition railroad train a theater hereafter for our nation. Nigerians are looking frontwards together with the PDP’s lurking inwards the economical nurture stance mirror solely underscores the resolve of Nigerians, that every bit far every bit the economic scheme is concerned it is ‘'never again."
GARBA SHEHU
SSAP (Media together with Publicity).
ABUJA.