FINALLY! OBASANJO REACTS TO ECONOMY RECESSION

Ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo on
September 27, Tuesday, blamed former
governors for the current economic recession.
He stated that ex-governors contributed to
the economic challenges troubling the nation
by opposing his government’s efforts to save
for the rainy day when the price of oil was
higher.
Obasanjo speaking during the 2016 World
Pension Summit in Abuja cried out that many
of the former state executives discouraged
his genuine attempt to save a considerable
part of the country’s resources when there
was excess oil revenue.
He said:-
“I remember when I was in government and I
told, particularly, the governors, ‘please let us
save for the rainy days.’ They said no!
“There was no rain at that time, now that the
rain has come; there is nothing we can fall
back on to cushion us.”
Meanwhile, the former leader praised the
secured nature of the pension scheme, adding
that despite the many years of corruption in
the Nigerian polity, the pension funds were
not touched.
“One of the things that make me very happy
in the pension scheme is that in the last five
years, when almost everything goes,
concerning public funds, pension funds remain
sacrosanct. I believe that the pension funds
are something we must preserve, no matter
what we do,” Obasanjo added.
In August 2016, Nigeria has fallen into
recession for the first time in more than two
decades as growth in Africa’s top oil producer
shortened for the second consecutive quarter.
The country’s economy contracted 2.1% in
the three months to the end of June, though
inflation hit an 11-year high of 17.1%,
underlining the depth of the West African
nation’s crisis.
The recession might not be unconnected from
the attacks of the Niger Delta militants in oil
rich region.



Sourced and edited by DANIEL IKECHUKWU EKWUNIFE (08066298797)