The presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, ACPN, Oby Ezekwesili, has lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for wasting time on WAEC certificate when Nigeria is facing a fiscal emergency.
She was reacting to the news that two top financial institutions, HSBC and UBS, have left Nigeria.
Ezekwesili stated that Nigerians should be alarmed by the CBN-acknowledged drop in foreign direct investments, FDI, and closure of the two global bank offices.
In a statement the former minister of Education sent to DAILY POST on Saturday, she said the decline in FDI was a pointer to the weakening investor confidence in Nigeria’s macro-economic policies and commitment to key structural reforms.
“The latest decline in the on FDI numbers ($1.7billion in the first half of 2017 compared to $1.2billion in 2018) signifies the weak confidence of foreign investors in the macroeconomic policies and commitment to key structural reforms in power, oil, gas and minerals sector of the administration.
“The country faces a fiscal crisis. It scarcely has the capacity to fund Capex out of revenues other than through borrowing. Problem is that debts (local and foreign) have risen, taking up with it, debt servicing which is now 69 per cent of revenue,” Ezekwesili stated.
“And yet the #APCPDP is having a debate over WAEC certificate. WAEC certificate? Do these people understand how serious and urgent Nigeria’s crisis is now?”
According to the former vice president of the World Bank, “Our campaign has outlined critical steps as part of our State of Emergency on the Economy within our first 100 days in office, ensuring confidence-boosting economic policy reforms in key sectors that signal positively to the private sector.”
While noting that the nation’s economic growth at 2 per cent is both too fragile and weak, mostly dependent on oil price recovery, she said, “We can no longer afford to be led by those who have no understanding of building economies, creating wealth for the majority and stimulating productivity, competitiveness and opportunity.
“Nigerians should wake up and see what we are facing. These men running for office don’t get it, and this is an emergency.“ .
