Ebun Francis || Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former President, and perennial Presidential runner, on Wednesday, said that the country could not be said to be out of recession until Nigerians can afford three square meals a day.
The former Vice President was reacting to the news by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that Nigeria is out of recession following the 0.55 percentage growth recorded by the economy after five consecutive quarters of negative growth.
Atiku Abubakar, believed by political watchers to preparing to run in the 2019 presidential election took to Twitter to expressed delight at the development but said there is more work to be done “because inflation is still high”.
” But When all Nigerians can eat 3 square meals, that’s when the real recession ends. We have work to do”, he tweeted.
He, therefore, called a for continuous effort to expand economic opportunities for all Nigerians.
”As a Nigerian, investor and employer of labour, the news of Nigeria’s official emergence from the recession is most welcome”.
”The news is surely a boost for Nigeria – it tells investors, local and foreign, that our economy is worth investing in”.
”While we rejoice, it’s also important to recognize that economic weakness at the bottom of the pyramid remains. Inflation is still high”.
”We must continue working hard to expand economic opportunity for all Nigerians”, he concluded.
Different reactions have continued to trail the news of the countries exit from recession, with some, especially critics of the Buhari administration skeptical about the report but the chief executive officer of NBS, Yemi Kale has defended the report stating that the methodology used remains unassailable.
