APC, PDP differ on recession exit
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have expressed divergent views on Nigeria’s exit from recession.
The APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, rejoiced over the latest disclosures by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) respectively that the country has exited recession after five consecutive quarters of contraction and the country’s foreign reserve hitting $32 billion, the highest mark since January 2015.
The PDP, through the chairman of its National Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, however, said statistics could be played around with and cautioned against playing politics with the issue.
Makarfi, who spoke with newsmen yesterday in Abuja, after inaugurating the caretaker committees for Adamawa and Osun states, said there was nothing to celebrate on the NBS’s claim that Nigeria has exited from economic recession, until the ‘harsh’ living condition of Nigerians improved.
The PDP said it was imperative to reiterate the warning of the last Monetary Policy Committee (PMC) meeting to the effect that the nation was at risk of falling into a more protracted recession if strong monetary and fiscal policies were not activated immediately to sustain the country’s exit from recession.
But the APC spokesman lauded the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari on the economic recovery efforts which, he said, had started yielding fruits.
Abdullahi also thanked Nigerians for their patience, understanding and support for the President Buhari’s administration while the economy was in recession.
The party appealed for continued patience and cooperation from Nigerians.
“Commendably, the country’s exit from recession is in tandem with the current administration’s forecast that the country will experience economic growth in 2017. This is another demonstration that the President Buhari APC-led administration is one that keeps its promises.
“Although there remains much more work to be done, we assure Nigerians that the administration remains focused on its effort to sustain the economy on the path of growth,” he also said.