APC National Chairman Confesses, Says ”We Didn't Know Economy Was This Bad" |PoliFocus

National chairman, All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun

As the nation celebrates Democracy Day, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has again restated his claim that the erstwhile ruling party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP) ran the country economy aground.



Speaking with newsmen on Monday in Abuja, Chief Oyegun accused the PDP for lacking the vision to diversify the economy from its current mono-cultural status for the 16 it was in power.

The former Edo state governor, however, confessed that his party was not aware of the enormity of the economic challenges facing the nation while it was canvassing for votes before the 2015 general elections.

He said: “No, we didn’t underrate it neither did you nor anyone else unless those with the gift ofprophesy. None could have known what was coming; if I ask you to describe the situation in 2015, I am sure you won’t have added that the crude oil market was going to collapse. Did you foresee that?”

“We knew we were going to take over a battered economy, but we were glad that oil was still coming at 2.5 million barrels a day, we were glad that prices were still hovering around a$100/barrel occasionally.”

“During the years of PDP, it was going between$100 to $120 a barrel and we took over a totally ravaged economy and we were prepared for that because we also thought since we didn’t have the gift of prophecy that Nigeria will continue to be blessed with oil resources, 2.5 million barrels sometime three million at $80 a barrel, sometimes $100 a barrel, we were ready to get the nation moving quick.”

The APC chairman who pleaded for understanding of Nigerians over the poor state of the economy, however, noted that the ruling party deserved commendation, not condemnation for managing what he described as battered economy.

“When we took over, as if that wasn’t enough with a battered economy, the very next week or two, crude market collapsed at a stage that the price of production of a barrel and the price we were getting from the world market was almost the same; about 30-something dollars a barrel.

“If you don’t move from the background you will think that we are so incompetent. In fact, it is theopposite praise that you should be singing, that this country didn’t collapse economically; that isthe reality.

“I am a trained economist, I am a development economist. You should look at the reality; forget the hunger, there is hunger in the land but you should wonder why this country didn’t collapse with virtually no income, no foreign exchange, nothing!

“And we are still here today, that is the reality and it has nothing to do with incompetence. We had no revenues, we had no foreign exchange, and we were an economy that exists to function.

When President Buhari managed and painfully, Iknow the pain we went through to allow the price of petrol to go up.“For a long time when we came if you could remember the news were still on and off but there was no other solution than to let go, you can’t continue that regime of subsidy which wasone of the things that almost bankrupted this nation.

“We had to bring in the Treasury Single Account,had to make sure every kobo was accounted for, had to go abroad and the press started telling everyone that he lives in an aircraft from one capital to another to draw up resources to keep the nation afloat.

“Then came the recession and in a situation like that was inevitable, we had to spend to get out of recession; we had no savings. Honestly, if you people want to do this country a favour, youshould tell anybody who was a main person in PDP that they ought to hang their heads in shame and you should pray that we never have a government again like what the PDP did to thiscountry.

“The signs were there, they fought over oil blocks endlessly. Nobody ever thought that this resource is one that will finish one day, nobody ever thought giving those 16 years of PDP rule that every day they were talking of renewable energy resources they were planning no longer to be dependent on this war ravaged areas for their own industrial fueling.

“Our government for 16 years just kept importing petrol, export crude, sending away ship load of crude that was not accounted for, individuals appropriating the money that belonged to me and you. So please, be a little bitsofter, kinder and look at the details of how we got to where we are today.

“I am not going to abuse PDP or anybody but this is the reality, this is the truth of how this country is where it is today and we are labouring, the president is labouring now to diversity the country. It is a foundation that totally cracked and collapsed.

“Crude was no longer relevant as a propellant for growth in Nigeria, what other thing was available to diversify the country? What had our previous government put in place to propel the economy of this nation?

“You don’t know how close we were to collapse

“When I read some of these things I am pained to the marrow. This country was almost destroyed and whatever people are saying it is good that President Buhari came at the time he did. That is the reality, is not that we weren’t prepared, we were very prepared.”

Culled from Nigerian Tribune



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