President is winning back economy- APC Stalwart

Chief Osita Okechukwu, a stalwart of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in South-East, says President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is steadily winning back the Nigerian economy.

Okechukwu, who is also the Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Thursday.

According to him, the nation’s exit from recession is as a result of the present administration’s efforts at laying a solid foundation for the growth of the economy.

He was speaking against the backdrop of the recently released statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showing that the country was out of recession after two consecutive quarters of economic growth.

“It is good news for all Nigerians. It is an excellent development worth celebrating by all.

“It shows that slow and steady; President Buhari is winning back the economy and putting the country on the path of optimal productivity once again.

“With this development, it is clear to all Nigerians that President Buhari is laying a solid economic foundation for the future of the country,’’ he said.

The APC chieftain said that the present administration had done a lot in terms of agriculture, road construction as well as welfare of all Nigerians.

“The agriculture sector has been given its pride of place as the major economic stay, job creation mechanism, food security bedrock; and finally, good foreign exchange earner.

“You see individuals, corporate bodies and state governments going into agriculture in a modern and big way; thus, stimulating the local or micro economy.

“On roads, the number of roads done currently across all states and geographical zones is just alarming. Roads abandoned five or six years ago, when the nation had abundant resources to fix them.

“Thus, the road reconstruction and construction nationwide had created employment for hundreds of thousands of workers and a great multiplier effect on the economy.’’

According to him, Mr President has deliberately replenished the pockets of Nigerian workers at all levels by pushing out more than N1 trillion through the Bail-out and Paris Club loan refunds.

“These funds have touched the lives of workers at the state and local government levels being owed salaries for months, thus, stimulating the local economy and purchasing power of Nigerians.’’

Okechukwu, however, appealed to Nigerians to stick with the winning team by promoting peace and stability as well as supporting all government programmes designed for their economic benefits.

“For the youth, I want them to hook up online and take advantage of the various ongoing empowerment and skills acquisition schemes to better their lives and increase their productivity.’’