Recession exit is like Boko Haram defeat with over 400 dead - Gov

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has maintained that the

Faulting the claim that Nigeria has climbed out of economic recession, Fayose in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, stressed that the claim can be likened to the defeat of Boko Haram with a report of over 400 killed in last five months.

“Claiming that Nigeria is out of economic recession without any corresponding effect on the living condition of the people is just like they said Boko Haram had been defeated and over 400 people were killed by the insurgents in the last five months,” Fayose said.

Fayose asked, “Is the Dollar now N197 to $1? Is petrol now back to N87 per litre that Buhari met in May 2015? Are Nigerians now feeding comfortably, even if it is once in a day?

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“Most importantly, are states now getting enough allocation from the Federation Account to be able to meet their obligations, especially payment of salaries?”

The governor maintained that the claim of exit from recession was nothing but another attempt by the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress to deceive Nigerians ahead of the 2019 elections.

He added, “It must be stated that Nigeria’s foreign reserves, which stood at $28.6bn by May 2015 when President Buhari took over power, declined steadily to $23.89bn by the last quarter of 2016. It was in 2016 that Nigeria slipped into recession owing to the bad economic policies and repressive actions of President Buhari.”

The governor said the reality on ground showed that Nigerians were suffering and dying, with foods and drugs out of their reach.