The Presidency has released a 2,176-page document that in its words, outlines exactly how it plans to remove the Nigerian economy from the recession it currently finds itself. This was presented to the media by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu.
Shehu used to the occasion to defuse claims that the FG were quite confused as to the way forward, saying that the document represents a clear approach to solving the economic crisis, as key sectors had been identified for development.
Once again, Shehu blamed the past administration for causing the current woes of the country. According to him, the past administration borrowed heavily in order to postpone the occurrence of an economic recession.
He went to note that the approach of the current administration, is to create a stable future for Nigerians by diversifying the economy and supporting this by improving infrastructural growth.
‘From its records so far, this administration is trying to reset the Nigerian economy and ensure that it attains its potential. We are doing this at a time when the global economy is in crisis due to the oil price collapse.’ Vanguard Newspapers reports Shehu as saying.
He also insisted that the cries for leaving the past were not in the country’s interest as these mistakes could again resurface to cause problems. He quoted areas where, as a result of government inquisition into the former administration had reaped benefits.
See what the current administration is doing to sanitize the huge salary bill by eliminating payroll fraud. So far, the federal payroll has been rid of about 40,000 ghost workers. More than eight billion Naira stolen monthly has been saved…We are also saving on wasteful expenses like First Class travels and use of private jets for official trips. The federal government is not limiting the reforms to the center but forcing state governments to reform their spending and build savings or investments’.
Parts of this article originally appeared in Vanguard Newspapers.