Nigeria moves from RECESSION to DEPRESSION, no more pity for Buhari’s failure – PDP

– Nigeria is in depression says Enugu State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA)

– ECCIMA says the Federal Government (FG) has not handled the economic situation as it should be handled

– President Buhari’s failure will not be greeted with sympathy anymore says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

The federal government has been heavily criticized for mishandling the economy and failing to properly manage the economic situation of the country.

Enugu State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), has criticized the FG, revealing that Nigeria has already plunged into depression contrary to the claims of recession making the rounds in government circles.

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Noting that the prevailing situation where families can no longer afford one square meal is a clear pointer that the economy is depressed, ECCIMA stated that unless the Federal Government quickly rejigs its economic team, people’s means of survival may be greatly diminished.

Daily Post reports that the assertion was made by the director general of ECCIMA, Mr Emeka Okereke, who pointed out that the south-east geopolitical zone was the worst hit by the state of the economy.

He based his judgment on the abysmal infrastructure in the region which has crippled trade and commerce that forms the bedrock of the regions’ economy.

According to him, “The Federal Government needs to quickly rejig its economic team if it had one. It is clear that the present economic team does not have a solution to mitigate the recession. There are a good number of Nigerians who can proffer solution to the prevailing problems.

“The president needs to draw experts that will advise him and he should be prepared to heed these pieces of advice to enable us come out of the woods. The buck stops at the President’s table.

“Most Nigerians now are talking of survival not even investing in the productive sector especially in the Small Medium Enterprises, SMEs. People are talking of how to feed. Nobody is talking of investment because the cash flow is not there. The purchasing power has not risen while inflation has ripped off all savings you have made. People are eating their savings now because income is stagnant.

“All the entire economic indicators are showing red. That is why we have gone into depression. People are suffering badly. Most families now cannot afford one square meal a day. These are facts. It is not criticism. Those that are close to the president should tell him the detrimental nature of Nigeria’s survival at this period.

“The economy needs to be stimulated. The economic space has shrank beyond imagination. There is nothing that is happening at the economy. The 2016 budget has witnessed a poor implementation and the year has elapsed. Government needs to spend on critical infrastructure and on recurrent expenditure so that consumption power of the people will improve. For now, everything is stagnant.”

On how the recession has affected the South-east, Okereke said: “The cost of living in the south-east region has soared to an all time high, from food stuff to transportation among other variables.

The economy of the south-east for now is bedrocked on trade. If you go to our ports now, I’m sure you have heard that most shipping companies are closing shops.

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Majority of Nigerians who import goods come from south-east. So, south-east economy has been grounded as a result. It is noticeable when you go to the markets.

“South-east economy which is dependent on commercial activities, trade is at a standstill. You won’t talk of the productive sector or industry because the cost of importing raw materials is now unbearable. The region is worse off because supporting infrastructure like roads, railway, airport among others are in a very bad shape.”

Meanwhile, some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday lambasted President Buhari over his comments that he inherited nothing from PDP administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan.

Reacting, former Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Rowland Owie, bemoaned: “The statement shows that President Buhari has lost it all because his failure in government will no longer deserve the sympathy of Nigerians. It is unfortunate.

“Yes he is fighting corruption but even at that we have our reservations. His method of fighting corruption has raised a lot of questions. He may be passionate but many people think he is being selective.

“Examples abound. In Benue state for instance, anybody who decamped to APC is now a saint. He is not being sincere in several other ways and we don’t think he is being sincere in his assertion. He is dodging his responsibilities.”

Also commenting, former PDP National Publicity Secretary and Minister of Information, John Odey, said: “I want to believe that he was reported out of context because no sitting president can make such a sweeping statement.

“Government is a continuum and I strongly believe he never meant that he did not inherit anything from previous governments since 1999.

“Maybe, he meant that if previous administrations were prudent in investing and diversifying the economy, we would have been better.”

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