MON, 12 SEPTEMBER 2016-Nigeria activist investors and economists are demanding to see a well thought out economic plan and very proactive urgent response to the flapping economy rather the now frequent sentiments on why the economy is in a state flux and the continuous statement on what ‘they (Federal government) want to do’.
They say that the federal government should know and acknowledge that it is not only about revenue loses but about some trends which are difficult and which they must try to understand.
“They must understand that the populace is not all that happy because the situation has not improved in the past 14 months. The standard of living is falling deeper, people are highly disappointed and unemployment has risen to an all time high at more than 13 %, they must start doing something everyone can relate to now,” says one of the investors.
They were responding to G&BJournal’s questions on vice president Yemi Osinbajo’s claim Sunday that the reason for the current recession is because the country lost about 60 percent revenue and 40 percent gas production to nefarious activities of pipelines vandals across Niger-Delta region in recent times.
The vice president was speaking to journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. He said President Muhammadu Buhari-led presidency had dealt seriously with corruption and controlling government expenditure in order to reposition the economy.
“I have strong belief that by the grace of God, we will be able to resolve that. Once we are able to resolve that, we would at least be able to earn more revenue. If revenue grows, it is an added advantage,” the vice president said.
The vice president at the briefing also pointed out what he says is steps to revive the economy. He said the government was taking steps to revive the economy through diversification into agriculture, solid mineral, generate employment through the creation of 500,000 volunteer corps job opportunities by the end of September and implement micro credit facilities and disbursement to a minimum of 1 million market women and artisans.
Our respondents to these claims say these are all promises. “They are not happening and the economy is likely to further shrink in third quarter of the year,” they say. The Nigerian economy already shrank six straight months in 2016 (Jan-June) resulting in the manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, PMI drop by 41.9 index points.
