Eniola Akinkuotu and Friday Amobi
The Minister of Information, Culture and
Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says President Muhammadu Buhari has saved
Nigeria from economic crisis and prevented the economy from getting
worse than it would have been.
Mohammed said this at the All Nigerian
Editors Conference 2016 in Port Harcourt on Thursday, according to a
statement by his spokesman, Mr. Segun Adeyemi.
While making allusions to Venezuela, an
oil-rich South American country which now depends on neighbouring
Columbia for essential commodities, Mohammed said Nigeria which also
failed to save during the oil boom, could have suffered the same fate if
not for Buhari’s leadership skills.
He said, “We must give hope to our
people, while also giving encouragement to those who are working
non-stop to revamp our economy. In one country that failed to save for
the rainy day like Nigeria, citizens are now having to cross to
neighbouring countries to get essential commodities.
“The only reason we have averted such
fate here is the committed, honest and disciplined leadership provided
by President Muhammadu Buhari, the prudent management of the little
resources that are accruing to the country now, thanks to the Treasury
Single Account, the unrelenting war against corruption, the rooting out
of ghost workers and the increasing emphasis on agriculture that is sure
to massively reduce our scandalously high food imports in a short
while.”
The minister said for several years the
price of oil stood at $100 and above but the government of the day
refused to save for the rainy day.
He said other oil-rich nations like
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Angola had saved for
the rainy day and that was why their economies were still buoyant.
Mohammed added, “Nigeria has nothing to
rely on to cushion the effects of the lost earnings. Many other
oil-producing countries and fellow OPEC members are faring better,
because they saved for the rainy day. Saudi Arabia, with about one fifth
of Nigeria’s population, has in foreign reserves about $600bn (which is
23 times what Nigeria has in foreign reserves).
“United Arab Emirates, with less than 10
million people, has $75bn in foreign reserves. Qatar, with 2.4 million
people, has $36bn in foreign reserves. Even Angola, with just 24 million
people, has about $25bn in foreign reserves.”
Earlier, the Rivers State Governor,
Chief Nyesom Wike, had while declaring open the conference, accused the
media of being involved in a conspiracy of silence while the people of
the state were denied legitimate representation at the National
Assembly.
Wike said, “The 8th National Assembly
is well into the second year of its four-year tenure without any Rivers
State representative in the Senate.
“We have only a fraction of Rivers
representatives in the House of Representatives. Yet, the press is
maintaining conspiratorial silence over the continuing repression and
deliberate denial of the state’s constitutional right to full and
effective representation at the National Assembly.
“The question is: can Rivers State
legitimately be bound by legislation or resolutions from the 8th
National Assembly passed without our representation and input? I would
like to leave you with some thoughts about the values we share –
thoughts about our democracy, good governance and public accountability.
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