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Minister denies blaming Buhari for Nigeria’s economic woes

By Ujunwa Ochulo
13 March 2016   |   1:21 pm
The minister for information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has denied blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for the poor state of Nigeria's economy.
Lai-Mohammed PHOTO: www.today.ng

Lai-Mohammed

The minister for information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has denied blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for the poor state of Nigeria’s economy.

“My views were twisted,” Mohammed said in a statement on Sunday. “I was reported to have said that the economy of our country is beyond the control of the President.”

A section of the Nigerian media had claimed that the minister while speaking on an Abuja radio station, said that the economy has not witnessed any tangible upward trend because  it was beyond what the President can deal with.

With a weak Naira, sliding prices of oil on the global market and low foreign reserves, experts believe the country is not about to witness any economic revival anytime soon.

But the minister said President Buhari was on course to turn around Nigeria’s declining fortune. He said his statement was twisted for selfish gains.

“This is a gross misrepresentation of what I said,” he said. “I could not have said our economy is out of the control of our President or the administration he heads. As a matter of fact, this Administration has decided to turn the economic disaster‎ that we inherited to a blessing by diversifying our economy.

“I don’t know the reason behind the gross distortion of my comments on the…, but whatever the motive is, Nigerians should disregard such distortion and continue to support our President and his Administration to take our country out of the woods.”

9 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    TELL THE PEOPLE THAT PRESIDENT BUHARI INHERITED A VERY ROTTEN ECONOMY FROM THE GOD FORSAKEN ADMINISTRATION OF GOODLUCK JONATHAN. YOU DID NOT SAY THAT GOODLUCK JONATHAN DEALTH PRESIDENT BUHARI A VERY BAD HAND. YOU DID NOT TELL THE PEOPLE THAT JUDGING FROM THE VERY TERRIBLE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL MESS, PRESIDENT BUHARI FRON GOODLUCK JONATHAN, THAT PRESIDENT BUHARI IS DOING A VERY GOOD JOB AS PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA. AGBAKOBA YOU MUST TELL NIGERIANS THAT GOODLUCK JONATHAN, HIS GANG OF LOOTERS AND THIEVES AND SO CALLED ELITES LIKE YOU WHO WRE PARTNERS OF THE VERY MASSIVE AND VERY OBSCENE LOOTERS AND THIEVES, MUST SPEND THE REST OF THEIR WRETCHED LIVES IN PRISON, IF THEY ARE FOUNG GUILTY AFTER VERY DUE LEGAL PROCESSES, FOR AIDING AND ABEITING AND PARTNERS IN THE JOINT ENTERPRISE.

  • Author’s gravatar

    “As a matter of fact, this Administration has decided to turn the economic disaster‎ that we inherited to a blessing by diversifying our economy”. Mr. Lie, the same diversification ur boss has repeatedly uttered to be “no way” for his country? I still recall him uttering that same statement in his recent charade with Al jazeera where he was sweating to give simple constructive answers. “…especially for us in Nigeria where it’s becoming difficult for us to diversify our economy” that was somti like is words, that same herculean task to ur boss is always a mere task to u on media, continue.

  • Author’s gravatar

    The fowl playing recklessly inside a woven basket is surely seeking a rendezvous with the peppersoup pot

  • Author’s gravatar

    You didn’t even need to tell us in the first place to know the economy is out of Buhari’s control. It was ever going to be. Don’t worry, the holy spirit of truth spoke through you

  • Author’s gravatar

    Come to think of it… How would the Spoke person of the Government turn round to blame the head of the same Government for economic retardation or woes or posit that challenges the Government is facing is greater than the head of the same Government of which he is a spoke person. Please report with common sense.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Ee’yah! So, you lie Lai mohammed has eaten your own vomit. That’s so disgusting. I love your conclusion and I think you should resign and don’t forget to take along PMB with you. No thanks.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Mr Lie, you never inherited any bad economy. you knew the state of the economy while campaigning. that was why your boss, Mr Buhari, boasted that he would shore up the naira to level

    with the dollar. didn’t he also promise to pay 5000 naira monthly allowance to jobless folks? So why are you now playing on words? Is it now that the APC realized the need to diversify the economy? Is it now they have decided to put their thinking caps on? what else qualifies as crass ineptitude?

  • Author’s gravatar

    Government spokesman you have done a good job .when you release words from your month without thinking you are bound to make mistakes.people have being accusing you of making false statement about former president Goodluck Jonathan administration despite the fact that he did a lot for this country.There is no administration that is immune from corruption and stealing of public funds. Goodluck Jonathan’s administration may not have fought corruption effectively. But Nigerians are aware how he fought the fuel subsidy fraud and published their names in the national newspapers .His predecessor never attemted to fight these cabals because there are from a specific part of the country and they regarded that portion of the economy as their national cake.The fertilizer fraud that went on for more than 30 years that was stopped by Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is another good example.
    Let me remind the minister that corruption comes in different ways. Violation of the Constitution, violation of court order, indiscriminate detention, cancelation of election results ,and intimidation of political opponents .Never in the history of our modern democracy that ethnicity has been used as a tool of hiring top government employees.unemployment is at its peak. Press freedom is threaten by those that used it to come to power,naira has been sold for more than 300 naira . Nigerians do not have hope of the future. Those that voted feel betrayed and fooled by their ethnic political leaders. Never in the history of modern democracy that people traded competency over ethnicity and power must change hand.The story gones on.Mr minister of information, If people said you made that statement .What you said is the reality . The words that comes out from a man”s mouth is like an arrow.when it is released it cannot be retrieved. If you were afraid to tell the president in private this statements it means you do not like the president you are working for.You have to stepdown right now or he will fire you from your job.