Ex-VP says Buhari cannot fight unemployment, poverty as GDP worsens

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has doubted the ability of the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari to effectively fight the problems of unemployment and poverty in the country.

The presidential aspirant expressed his doubt in reaction to a new report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that disclosed that Nigeria's gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2018 has slowed down.

"Q2 2018 real GDP growth at 1.50% year on year compared to 1.95% in Q1 2018 and 0.72% in Q1 2017," the report read.

Atiku took to his Twitter account to point to the data as proof that Buhari's government has no idea how to improve Nigeria's economy. The former vice president also boasted that he's created more jobs for Nigerians than anyone else running for President in 2019.

He posted, "This report shows Nigeria's economic growth remains unimpressive. Also, the economy remains driven by the oil sector & economic diversification is yet to be achieved. As a consequence, we do not see how the FG can effectively fight the twin problems of unemployment & poverty.

"This is why I am running for President, to get Nigeria working again. I helped grow Nigeria’s economy as VP and have created more jobs than anyone running for President in 2019."

Atiku, who was vice president between 1999 and 2007, is one of the favourites to be Buhari's biggest challenger in the 2019 presidential election if he wins the ticket of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).