The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, has explained why the country’s economy under the Muhammadu Buhari administration is the way it is.
The minister gave this explanation while responding to questions about the economy and other issues during his appearance on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today which was monitored by Africa Daily News, New York.
While critics have accused the government of worsening the economy, Sylva put the blame on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led administration.
‘What we inherited is like broken China (plate),’ he said when asked about the state of the economy. ‘Somebody broke China and arranged it very well on the table as if it was not broken.
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‘So, you came into the room, and you thought there was a China on the table and you tried to pick it up, and it just fell into pieces in your hands; who broke it, is it you or was it already broken?
‘That was the kind of economy we inherited; we inherited an economy that was already broken. We tried to pick up the economy and it scattered in our hands.’
President Buhari won the 2015 presidential election on the strength of his campaign promises which bordered on fighting corruption, providing security, and improving the economy.
He has, however, been seriously criticised by individuals and groups – especially the opposition party – for the way the economy is being handled.
The criticism is triggered by the increase in the prices of food and other commodities, as well as the devaluation of the naira against the dollar, among others.
The present administration is, however, not bothered by the criticism, according to Sylva.
Instead, it will continue to step up efforts to better the lives of the people.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
