SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has disclosed that the country is technically in recession. She then blamed the administration of Goodluck Jonathan for failing to adequately confront the economic challenges at the time.
The minister stated this on Thursday at the Senate while briefing lawmakers on the state of the nation’s economy and the implementation of the 2016 Appropriation Act, adding that the violent activities in the Niger Delta had affected government’s revenue.
According to her, “Are we in recession? Technically, yes we are. The previous administration was borrowing to pay salaries. We were taking panadol when we had cancer.”
When asked by the Senators if there was a strategy by the government to diversify the economy, Adeosun said the Federal Government was tackling the problem by bridging the infrastructural gap, stressing that “the fundamental thing needed to diversify the economy is infrastructure and we are attacking the infrastructural deficits.”
Adeosun stated that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is not immune to the sufferings of Nigerians, assuring that the economy of the country is in good hands as spending has been reduced to enable the government embark on necessary projects.
“This government is not immune to the suffering of Nigerians, it affects us all and we are doing all we can to assuage it. It is our collective duty to solve the problems, I am not painting a rosy picture but we will get out of it,” she said.
When asked about the executive’s plan not to implement the N60 billion constituency projects of the federal lawmakers, the minister said, “Everything put into the budget must be implemented, or there is no sense passing the budget. We take constituency projects seriously, these are projects that impacts directly on the people.”
“I am very surprised that contractors have been told not to bid for projects put in the budget,” she added.
Adeosun stated that she was not worried about the report that the naira is the third worst performing currency in the world, saying: “I am not bothered about that; everyone is entitled to their opinion.
“We cannot begin to somersault when somebody from abroad says something or gives an opinion. Nigerians should not panic. We are still the biggest economy in Africa and we will still get better.”
When asked by the Senators if there was a strategy by the government to diversify the economy, the minister stated that the Federal Government was tackling the problem by bridging the infrastructural gap.
