The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo
Udoma, has blamed the oil-sector as the major problem that has made it
difficult for the federal government to lead the economy out of recession.
He said this on Thursday during a chat with newsmen in
Abuja.
According to the Minister, the slump in global oil prices
and the fall in Nigeria’s production capacity in the oil sector were responsible
for the slow pace of economic growth in the country.
He, however, said that the federal government is already
shifting grounds to the non-oil sector for solutions to the economic recession
rocking the nation.
Udoma, while urging Nigerians to continue to believe in the
President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, maintained that the results of
the efforts of the government at lifting the nation out of economic doldrums it
found itself has begun to yield results.
“Right now we should have already been out of the oil
sector. It is only the oil-sector that is dragging us down. So, we are shifting
growth; we are shifting a lot of resources to the non-oil sector as part of the
diversification effort of the administration.
“I urge Nigerians to continue to have hope, because we are
working very hard. And already you can see the results of what we are doing.
The GDP for the first quarter showed that the non-oil sector is growing at 0.72
percent,” he said.
On the issue of working closely with the state governments
to ensure an accelerated exit out of the country the current economic crunch,
Udoma said:
“We meet every month with the state governors at the
National Economic Council (NEC).
“In fact, we are having a meeting today. And on each of the
meetings, we review and align our policies. You may recall that in March last
year we organized a retreat for all the governors on the economy. So, we work
very closely with them.”
By Chijioke Jannah
