the dwindling economic situation of Nigeria had clearly shown that the
All Progressive Congress (APC) government had no effective strategies to
address the problem.
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TMG categorically said that although the economic mess is a creation
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led government, there is absence
of a well articulated policy to bring out Nigerians out of economic
doldrums.
The Chairman of TMG, Com. Ibrahim Zikirullahi stated this while
briefing newsmen on the state of the nation, in Abuja, he called on the
APC government to stop experimentation based on pet economic theories.
His words: “So far, it is clear that the All Progressives Congress
(APC) government of change has no effective strategy to clear the
economic mess that was created by the immediate past Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) led government.
“The reality of the absence of a well-articulated and coherent
strategy to bring Nigeria out of its current economic doldrums would be
seen in the excruciating crunch that is currently subjecting Nigerians
to untold hardships.
“Rather than abate, the current economic realities have further
accentuated the poverty, which millions of Nigerians in 2015 voted to
keep at bay. Demeaning stories of Nigerians who are now forced to engage
in theft of cooked food in desperate moves to deal with hunger, calls
for urgent attention.
“TMG calls on the Federal Government to discard the endless
experimentation based on pet economic theories, which do not reflect the
realities of the Nigerian condition. Nowhere is this more apparent than
in the current instability and chaos that have characterised the
management of the foreign exchange market.
“With so much uncertainty and confusion, the Central Bank of Nigeria
has shown very little acumen in being able to stabilise the system.
Beyond knee jerk experimentation, the nation’s monetary policy is yet to
get any nuanced intervention aimed at calming the market.
“So with each new approach almost on a weekly basis, the Naira on the
watch of the current monetary policy makers, slides further, with dire
implications for the purchasing power of Nigerians.”
The group however noted that there is a political undertone to the
continued economic problem, adding that all policy implementation was
still in the hands of those who are not wishing the government well to
justify their staying in government.
It said; “It is therefore not surprising that inflation is currently
galloping out of control, putting basic goods and services beyond the
reach of the ordinary Nigerian.
“It is pertinent to note however that there are political dimensions
to the current failed attempt to put the economy on the path towards
recovery. As far as we are concerned, as long as monetary policy remains
in the hands of those who were silent and did nothing when the
financial resources of the nation were being plundered during the
immediate past administration, the solutions proffered would continually
produce results that show vestiges of the disastrous past.”
Consequently, Zikirullahi demanded the immediate removal of the
current Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, wondering why the
President still leaves him in the position to allegedly continue
working underground against the government.
“The reasoning behind the President’s decision to allow the current
Governor of the Central Bank, who virtually opened up the vaults of the
Central Bank to looters, to continue to dictate the direction of the
economy, leaves much to be desired.
“In fact, in many other sectors, several discredited actors who were
part of the mess Nigerians were forced to live within the immediate past
government, were allowed to remain in the system.
Currently, many of them are mutating and worming their ways into
sensitive position from where they will continue to use their old habits
to dash the expectations of Nigerians.
“Nigerians expected a radical shift in the approach to governance,
and it is clearly not what they are currently seeing. The seriousness of
the Nigerian situation requires a radical change in which fresh minds
would galvanise and move the nation in a new direction,” he alleged.
Source: Sahara Reporters
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