Fayose: Buhari has lost touch with Nigeria’s economic realities, there’s hunger in the land

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has described President

Muhammadu Buhari’s latest comment that he was pleased with Nigeria’s

economic situation as another pointer to the fact that the President

has lost touch with the economic realities in the country, saying; “It

is strange that a President will say that he is pleased with

sufferings being experienced by his people.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, by his Special Assistant on Public

Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said it

was obvious that President Buhari’s close to three months stay in

London had taken his mind off the reality of the economic crises being

witnessed in the country.
Governor Fayose, who said economic growth of a nation can only be

measured by the welfare of the people, asked; “How can a President who

has spent more time abroad than he spent in Nigeria be telling

Nigerians that he is satisfied with the sufferings of the people? It

is like the President endorsing the sufferings of Nigerians and this

is painful,” he said.
“That President Buhari, who met exchange rate at N197 to $1 said that

he is pleased with the economy when exchange rate is now N370 to $1 is

a clear indication that the government is being ran on his behalf.”

“The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its unemployment report

for the fourth quarter (Q4) 2016 said 3.67 million Nigerians became

jobless in one year and that the number of unemployed Nigerians rose

from 7.51 million at the beginning of October 2015 to 11.19 million at

the end of September 2016.
“The same NBS, said in its June 2015 to May 2016 National Corruption

Report, that over N400 billion was paid as bribes to public officials

in Nigeria in one year (June 2015 – May 2016). Yet, they will tell

Nigerians that they are fighting corruption when indeed, corruption is

thriving under the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of

President Buhari.
“As at May 29, 2015 that Buhari became President, bag of rice was less

than N8,000, a bag of rice is about N18,000 now, more than 25 states

cannot pay workers salary regularly owing to dwindled revenue from the

federation account, and someone is telling Nigerians that the economy

is doing well? It is clear that the President has lost touch with real

economic situation of the country,” Governor Fayose said further.

While insisting that the President was not telling Nigerians the truth

on the economic situation of the country, Governor Fayose said, “Even

a two year old child knows that there is hunger in the land, Nigerians

are hungry, they are suffering and telling them that all is well is

like adding salt to their injury.”