The Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to step down following official confirmation that Nigeria has slipped into economic recession.
Africa’s biggest economy slid into recession for the first time in 29 years as the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced a further contraction in the second quarter of the year.
The NBS said on Wednesday that gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 2.06 percent after shrinking 0.36 in the first quarter.
It said the non-oil sector declined due to a weaker currency, while lower prices dragged the oil sector down.
“We join all well meaning Nigerians to call on Mr. Buhari to resign if he is unable to reverse the disastrous economic decline he has brought on Nigerians,” the opposition PDP said in a statement signed its Director of New Media, Deji Adeyanju.
The PDP in its statement Wednesday saw the crisis as a direct consequence of Mr. Buhari’s “ineptitude and incompetent” approach to economic management which were a rehash of the “archaic and incoherent economic policies” he similarly pursued as the head of a military junta between 1983 and 1985.
“Nothing better showcases the absolute ineptitude and incompetence of the Muhammadu Buhari administration than the GDP, Inflation and unemployment figures released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics today,” the PDP said in a statement signed by Deji Adeyanju, its director of new media.
“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 with 1984-85, companies are fleeing our shores in droves. Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) recently stated that 272 companies have shut down in the past one year,” Mr. Adeyanju said.
The Presidency, in a statement Wednesday afternoon, acknowledged the gloomy economic data, but assured of improvements in an apparent bid to assuage the fears of Nigerians.
“The just released GDP figures for the 2016 second quarter by the National Bureau of Statistics while confirming a temporary decline, has (sic) also indicated an (sic) hopeful expectation in the country’s economic trajectory,” Laolu Akande, media aide to the Vice President said in a statement.
The administration attributed the negative results to the activities of oil vandals and said other aspects of the economy were yielding intended results, indicating that Mr. Buhari might not be ready to accept growing calls for a new policy direction.
“A close look at the data shows that this outcome was mostly due to a sharp contraction in the oil sector due to huge losses of crude oil production as a result of vandalisation and sabotage.
“However, the rest of the Q2 data is beginning to tell a different story. There was growth in the agricultural and solid minerals sectors which are the areas in which the Federal Government has placed particular priority,” Mr. Akande said.
