The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday lashed out at Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang saying that he displayed ignorance of macro and micro-economies when he blamed former President Muhammadu Buhari for the economic crisis Nigerians are currently facing.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that Mutfwang had blamed Buhari for the nation’s economic downturn, at the swearing-in of his special advisers and heads of agencies at the Government House in Jos on Tuesday, stressing that the former president has mortgaged the future of the economy. But yesterday, the National Director of Publicity for the APC, Bala Ibrahim, reportedly berated the governor, saying that was merely playing to the gallery and displaying some level of ignorance.
Ibrahim went on to Buhari, noting that those who know the former president Buhari will agree that he cannot put in danger the nation’s economy. Ibrahim drew attention to the performance of Buhari as a military leader and former petroleum minister.
He said, “I will say the governor is probably displaying his ignorance of macro and micro-economies. When you talk about mortgaging the country or selling oil upfront for the future, I think he needs to go and learn how oil is marketed at the Rotterdam market. There are countries that produce oil, sell for upward of 10 years and payments made upfront. It is normal in the oil business. It didn’t start with Buhari even such a thing happened during his administration.
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“For his (Mutfwang) information, Buhari is very versed and experienced when it comes to oil marketing and economy having been minister of petroleum during the military regime. He has also been one head of state that built two refineries during his time. So he is very conversant with the economics of oil and anyone who knows Buhari will tell you he won’t do anything that will shortchange the country or put the future of Nigeria in jeopardy.
“On the issue of money printed, I believe that is being investigated by the National Assembly and I don’t want us to start pre-empting the outcome. The governor is just playing to the gallery. It is not something new but a normal statement expected from the mouth of the opposition. But in playing opposition, I always like people to play constructive and not destructive criticism.”
However, the Labour Party strongly disagreed with the stance of APC while noting that it has become a common practice for the leadership of the ruling party to blame their predecessor for the poor state of the nation’s economy.
The National Legal Adviser of Labour Party, Kehinde Edun, said that blame game could not resolve the continuing economic problems facing the country. “When are we going to stop this blame game? Buhari spent eight years blaming (Goodluck) Jonathan for the woes of the country. Is Tinubu also planning to spend the four years of his administration blaming Buhari?
“The important thing is to do the best you can since you decided to take up the challenge. This blame game will not help matters. They keep saying I inherited a bad economy. All the governors have also joined the trend of saying they inherited a debt profile of certain amounts. Enough of these excuses!
“If you are doing what you are supposed to do, Nigerians will know. Our people are becoming more enlightened now. This current government is still struggling with waste and extravagant spending. In spite of the difficulties and hardship Nigerians are facing, they are not doing their best.”