Asaba — Special adviser to the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate on Special Duties, Mr Godwin Anaughe, Tuesday, said if not for the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria would have been a failed State in totality like Venezuela, the way PDP was going.
Anaughe in an interview with the Vanguard, said; “the economy was in a free fall due to falling crude oil prices when President Buhari took over the office in May 2015. It eventually went into recession in the second quarter of 2016 due to falling crude oil prices and renewed restiveness in the Niger Delta, as the falling annual real GDP growth that began in 2013 spiraled into negative territory.
“Buhari stopped the slide into depression in the second quarter of 2018, after five consecutive quarters of negative growth and put the economy on the path to recovery.
“Unfortunately, again in 2019, Nigeria slided into its worst economic recession in over three decades, with a contraction of 3.62 percent in the third quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected every country of the world.
“But this time, Nigeria exited the recession earlier than expected in the next quarter due to growth in non-oil sector; taken holistically, as government policy to make this sector the main growth sector began to yield results.
“Since then, the Nigerian economy has continued on a positive trajectory, growing for the seventh consecutive quarter, even though foreign exchange earnings have lagged behind for most period.
“According to the recent GDP report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.54% year-on-year in real terms in the second quarter of 2022. This is a testament to the fact that the Nigerian economy is performing very well in a number of respects right now, especially in agriculture.
“In the area of infrastructure development, the Buhari administration has continued to prioritise long-term infrastructure spending to catalyze rapid economic development. This has made it possible for the government to complete long-abandoned projects such as the Lagos-Ibadan, Warri-Itakpe rail network, over 200 dams and Irrigation projects and no fewer than five airports.
“The Second Niger bridge and the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, abandoned for 16 years by the PDP will be completed this year. Over 13, 000 kilometres of roads, including bridges, are at different stages of completion across the country.
“Greater long-term infrastructure investment has made the economy stronger and better able to withstand external shocks, especially falling crude oil prices under the Buhari administration.
The bottom line is that the PDP created the great mess we have in the country today. It wasted the huge revenue from oil during the period they were in government.
“Buhari and APC inherited this mess in 2015, prevented the country from going downhill, put Nigeria back on its feet and began the long hard road to recovery by building a solid foundation for a diversified, strong, economy that will produce the desperately needed jobs and business opportunities for our people.
“Had President Buhari not intervened, Nigeria would have been a failed State in totality like Venezuela, the way PDP was going. Unfortunately, the government is not given the high marks it deserves for its accomplishments.
“The perception out there among a large number of Nigerians is that the government is not doing anything and the communication effort from Aso Rock has been uncertain and ineffective for the most part to say the least. The government, the APC and the presidential campaign need to do a far better job making their case to the Nigerian people”.