THE Presidency yesterday reacted to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s characterization of the Nigerian economy as sick and bankrupt, describing him as “desperate and ignorant of the workings of the economy.”
In a response to the letter he wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan on the 2011 budget, a top presidential aide said yesterday: “Atiku has once again misfired all in a bid to discredit the government’s economic policies. This is a desperate bid for him to win the sympathy of Nigerians to run as flag bearer of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). For a man of Atiku’s position, being a former Vice President and one who presently aspires to the top position in the country, talking down on the economy without offering credible alternatives is unforgivable.
“Some of the issues Atiku talked about are those which have been identified by the government and which are currently being addressed by President Jonathan’s government. By his latest comments, Atiku is once again deliberately distorting the facts and misrepresenting the books. His talking down on the economy is a slap on his party and a clear demonstration of his lack of patriotism. By his actions, he is casting aspersion on the country and putting the nation in very bad light both locally and internationally.”
The aide added: “Such a man is only desperate to get what he wants without putting the interests of the nation at heart. In the letter he wrote, what credible alternatives did he suggest to the government if he were sincere? This clearly shows that Atiku is a man who thinks about himself and his immediate family alone.”
He argued that contrary to Atiku’s claims, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director of the World Bank, never criticized the economy and “in fact, the World Bank she works for commended Nigeria’s steady economic growth and for Atiku to begin to use that as reference point shows clearly his gross lack of understanding of the workings of the Nigerian economy.”
He said contrary to Atiku’s claims, the international credit rating agencies never downgraded Nigeria. Instead, they “reaffirmed the credit rating of Nigeria and commended the government for its robust macroeconomic policies. It was the outlook that they expressed reservations about because of the forthcoming general elections.”
The aide said some of the fiscal measures being adopted by the government such as the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) and the move to cut down on recurrent expenditure were all ways of “implementing fiscal discipline”.
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