LAGOS, MARCH 3, 2017 – Former Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, has recounted the economic achievements of ex-President, Goodluck Jonathan in order to debunk the claims of the federal government indicting his former principal as being responsible for the current recession rocking the nation.
He said there was danger in peddling a single side of the story of how Nigeria’s recession started as championed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet; stressing that repeating a lie will make people start to assume it is true.
Abati stated this in Lagos while chatting with the media on the state of the economy.
He said that Jonathan’s administration rebased the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation and made Nigeria the largest economy in Africa.
He also said that in six months, the immediate past federal government attracted about N1.15 trillion in foreign direct investment (FDI) to the nation; hosted the first-ever World Economic Forum to be held in Africa as an endorsement of the work done on Nigeria’s economy; and revived the automotive industry and national railway; as well as grew agricultural sector to a robust stature.
The ex-spokesman further urged Nigerians to always double-check information peddled by the Buhari administration.
Abati said: “There is something about the danger of a single story. If you look at the Jonathan government, at the risk of defending that administration, under that administration the GDP was the rebased and Nigeria became the largest economy in Africa.
“As at 2014, Nigeria had become the number one Foreign Direct Investment destination in Africa. Within the first half of 2014, this economy has gained from FDI alone about N1.15 trillion. In fact, that same year, for the first time in Africa, the World Economic Forum held in Nigeria; which was a kind of endorsement of what was been done by that administration at that time.
“It was also under that administration that the auto motive industry was revived. It was under that administration that the national railway was revived. It was under that administration that the agricultural sector became very robust.
“I am not here to come and offer a defense but the danger of the single story is that it ends up repeating a lie until you assume that people will believe it. I think that people should double check some of these things.”
