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A former vice
president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant,
Atiku Abubakar has again raised the alarm over the state of the
nation’s economy, and warned that unless something drastic was done, it
might collapse. Mr Abubakar, in a statement sent to media houses
yesterday by his campaign outfit, said the gloomy picture of the
nation’s economy painted by foremost rating agency, Fitch Ratings, is a
matter for urgent intervention, not politicking. But in a swift
reaction, the Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Organisation dismissed Mr
Abubakar’s warning, insisting that the economy is doing well.

Mr Abubakar said
the Fitch Ratings report of October 22, which lowered Nigeria’s
investment grade by three notches to BB-minus should be a wakeup call
to all those unaware of the true status of the nation’s economy.
“Citing the depletion of its windfall oil savings and heightened
political uncertainty ahead of elections next year,” Mr Abubakar said
it is fast becoming very urgent for the federal government to pay
serious attention to the economy.” He also recalled his earlier alert
last week following Standard & Poor’s B-plus rating. Mr. Abubakar
said, “rather than taking me seriously on the concerns I expressed, my
advice only fetched me rebuke and insults from the Jonathan Campaign
Organization.”

Lessons from history

He recounted that
it was the same defiant attitude the defunct National Party of Nigeria
(NPN)-led federal government had towards repeated calls by the then
opposition leader, late Obafemi Awolowo. According to him, “they
ignored the warnings of the late sage and when they realised it, it was
too late to save anything. That was the point at which they declared
the economic emergency that gave rise to the ‘hated austerity measures’
of that era.” Mr Abubakar, however, commended the National Assembly for
its exemplary courage in faulting the handling of the economy and poor
implementation of the current budget ahead of the latest negative
report on the economy. He said that no serious government could afford
to ignore these danger signals from international credit rating
agencies as this would amount to nonchalance. He argued that the
management of the nation’s economy, the lifeline for the sustenance of
its democracy should not be sacrificed for political expediency. “Fitch
in its latest rating of our economy said continued withdrawals from the
nation’s excess crude account, into which Nigeria saves crude oil
earnings above a benchmark price, and lower foreign exchange reserves
were a threat to economic stability,” the aspirants said, alluding to
the agency’s warning that “the depletion of the excess crude account
and continued gradual fall in international reserves at a time of high
oil prices and record high oil production is a major concern.”

Political logjam

But the spokesman
of the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation, Sully Abu, said that he
(Abubakar) is merely whipping up hysteria on the matter through
selective evidence that can in no way represent the whole picture.
“Former vice President Atiku Abubakar has kept on his drumbeat of doom
and gloom on the state of the economy. We will however not join any
polemical war by those who insist on whipping up hysteria on this or on
any other issue through use of selective evidence that can in no way
present the whole picture,” Mr Abu said. “We want to reiterate that the
fundamentals of the nation’s economy remain promising on the short term
and the long term. Fitch or not, the economy remains on the path of
strong growth.”