PDP on recession: There’s nothing to celebrate until harsh living conditions improve

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says there is nothing to celebrate until the “harsh living conditions” have improved.

The party said this in reaction to the news that Nigeria had exited recession.

On Tuesday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that the country’s economy grew by 0.55% after five negative outlooks.

But in a statement on Wednesday, Dayo Adeyeye, spokesman of the PDP, said the aforementioned growth rate fell short of the 6.54% gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the corresponding quarter of 2014 – a period the Jonathan administration was in power.

Adeyeye said with “an inflation rate of 16.05% and an annual population growth rate of approximately 2.67% per annum, it is impossible to escape the conclusion that the recovery of the Nigerian economy is weak, feeble and insufficient to herald the sort of celebration and backslapping being displayed by officials of this APC led-administration.”

“At this point, it is necessary to sound a note of caution! It is imperative to reiterate the warning of the last monetary policy committee (PMC) meeting to the effect that the nation is at risk of falling into a more protracted recession if strong and bold monetary and fiscal policies are not activated immediately to sustain our exit from recession,” the statement read.

“This warning is very necessary in the light of the incompetence, lack of economic direction and incoherent economic policies of the Buhari administration which led us into, and then prolonged recession in the first place.

“It is clear that a continuation of the administration’s incoherent economic policies and its penchant for governance by propaganda will only lead us down a more dangerous path.

“We are of the firm belief that there is nothing to celebrate until the so called economic growth improves the harsh living conditions imposed on millions of ordinary Nigerians by the Buhari administration’s incoherent economic policies and is reflected in a reduction of the high cost of goods, services and staple foods necessary for everyday living.”