Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has attributed the current economic recession in the country to the sharp drop in power generation, occasioned by vandalism by militants and the looting of the treasury among others.
He said that the federal government remains focused and resolute in the quest to revamping the economy.
He was speaking in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital after an event and a visit to the Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun at the government house in the state capital.
The Vice President also said that the government is making effort towards taking the full advantage in the manufacturing sector, agriculture, solid minerals and technology to revamp the economy.
Set and Prepared
The Vice President highlighted figures from the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics which shows that agriculture and solid minerals had already started to contribute more to the economy
“We are all set and prepared to get out of the recession. I think that it is a time for us to take on the challenges of the time and understand them as opportunities.
“One of the key reasons why we are in a recession, as you know, is the fact that we lost almost 60% of our revenue due to the vandalisation of the pipelines in the Niger Delta and we lost almost 40% of gas due to power.
“Once we are able to resolve that, we will at least be able to earn more revenue and I very strongly believe that by God’s grace we will be able to resolve that. If revenue goes up, that is an added advantage,” he said.
A Part To Play
While asking Nigerians to be more patriotic, the Vice President explained that measures such as the launch of the 50,000 jobs for volunteer corps, micro credit loans for market women and conditional cash transfer for a million of the poorest are to be launched soon.
Prof. Osinbajo encouraged Nigerians to believe in the government to deliver the change it promised, adding that the development they crave would not happen overnight but the government remains focused.
He also noted that all Nigerians have a part to play in the change they want to see.
“We are very calm and extremely confident that, God being on our side, this country will not be the same in the next couple of years,” he said.