Minister Blames Nigeria’s Woes On Oil
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information[/caption]
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has blamed the country’s over-dependence on oil as the primary cause of the current economic recession.
Mohammed stated this on Wednesday at the news briefing at his residence in Oro, Irepodun Local Government Area in Kwara state.
He said the prevailing economic situation was not about trading blames, as “those who understand knew that this recession was bound to happen in such circumstance.”
He said the crash in global price of oil exposed the country’s defective economic policy, with oil accounting for over 60 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
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The minister said the situation was further compounded by inadequate reserve to cushion the effect of oil “misfortunes’’ on the country.
“We have a very defective economic structure, which depended largely on a single platform of crude and fuel.
“Crude oil accounts for between eight and 12 per cent of our GDP and another 53 per cent of the GDP which we call non-oil, unfortunately also depend on the same oil.
“When the price of oil now crashes in the international market, definitely you are bound to have this kind of shock in the economy,” he said.
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He criticized Nigerians’ preference for imported goods to Nigeria made products, saying that substantial amounts of the country’s foreign exchange earnings were being spent on importation of goods and services.
He also noted that “Change Starts with Me” initiative launched by the federal government on Tuesday was to instill discipline and the needed change of attitude in both the leaders and the people.
“Nigerians have to change their attitude from the past; it is not only about the leaders but also the followers.
“This is the only way we can achieve our desired progress, growth and development,” he said.
