The Presidency has denied comments that the nation’s economy is in danger of collapse, saying all globally recognized indices indicate the economy is stable and on an upward beat.
Senior special assistant to the president on public affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe while reacting to the alarm raised by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) that the economy was in danger of collapse under the Jonathan administration, said that the statement is lacking in substance.
Okupe said that ACN’s claim was in contradiction of verdicts of reputable international agencies who consistently upgraded the country’s economic ratings in the last one and a half years.
“Contrary to the claim of the ACN that the cost of producing a barrel of oil had ‘skyrocketed’ to 35 dollars in 2012 from 4 dollars in 2002, the actual cost of production stands at approximately 17 dollars per barrel. The cost of oil production per barrel had never risen as high as the opposition claims,” he said.
Okupe faulted ACN again, saying that “for a fact, there are incidents of crude oil theft which had existed for several decades before this administration came on board. However, the truth is that this is currently being tackled through proactive steps by the government.”
Okupe alleged that the ACN was displaying double standards in its accusations as he said “one wonders if the ACN would have ignored the ratings by FITCH, STANDARD & POOR’S, MOODY’S and JP MORGAN if those bodies had turned in a negative verdict on the Nigerian economy.”
