Nigeria Economy : Resign now or be disgraced out of office, you know next to nothing! - PDP, other top politicians tell President Buhari

FOLLOWING  the distressing figures released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics which bother on GDP and inflation, the Peoples Democratic Party has called on all and sundry to prevail on President Buhari to honourably throw in the towel or risk being disgraced out of office considering the suffering and hardship his incompetence to effectively manage the economy has brought on Nigerians.

In a statement issued on Wednesday made available to journalists , the Peoples Democratic Party the figures reveal what the party have repeatedly said over the last 15 months – the Nigerian President is destroying the Nigeria economy.

“For the avoidance of doubt, some of these figures include: GDP contracted by -2.06% in Q2 2016. 

In contrast, the economy grew by 2.35% in Q2 2015. Q2 was worse than the -0.36% shrinking of the economy in Q1 2016. 

“Headline Inflation for July 2016 stands at 17.1%. It was from 16.5% in June 2016. Food inflation was 15.58% for July 2016 from 15.3% in June 2016. 

Portfolio investment declined to an estimated $245.3m in Q2 2016. This represents a 9.5% from $271.0m in Q1 2016 & is a far cry from $2.81bn in Q2 2015. FDI declined from $211.1m in Q2 2015 and $174.4m in Q1 2016 to an estimated $133.0m in Q2 2016.

Total value of capital imported in Q2 2016 is estimated at mere $647.1m. This is the lowest quarterly figure since Nigeria started keeping records of capital importation. It is a decline from $710.9 m in Q1 2016 & a far cry from $2.67bn in Q2 2015. 

A total of 4,580,602 people have lost their jobs since May 29, 2015. The number of persons in full time employment decreased by 351,350 in Q2 2016 compared to Q1 2016. 

PDP said the result of these indices is that Nigeria is in its worst economic state for 29 years – dating back to 1987 when the nation had to take harsh steps to recover from President Buhari’s policies of 1984-85.

“As of 1984-85, companies  fled our shores in droves. Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) recently stated that 272 companies have shut down in the past 1 year.

“Furthermore, like we suffered in 1984-85, we are suffering a brain drain where our best & brightest talents are leaving the country in search of a better life elsewhere. 

“It is disheartening that the Buhari administration is destroying the Nigerian economy & our collective future by the implementation of his archaic & incoherent economic policies which failed in 1984-85 & are failing spectacularly now. 

“Our dismay is worsened by the fact that every sphere of the Nigerian socio-political space (ranging from the conduct of elections, human rights, respect for the rule of law, security, technology, health etc) is negatively affected by the Buhari administration.

These distressing  figures, however, continued to draw angry reactions from top politicians across  the political parties in Nigeria and the All Progressives' Congress,who did  not want their names in print as of the time of filing this report.

Recall that Ekiti state governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has called on President Mohammadu Buhari to listen to the cries of Nigerians and stop seeing those with opinions different from his own as threats to his hold on power.

Fayose said; “The reality our President must face now is that there is too much hunger in the land, Nigerians are hungry, they are suffering and the President should rather  listen to those who are more knowledgeable than him in terms of management of the country’s economy instead of seeing them as threats.”