Recession: Lai Mohammed forecasts bleak Xmas for Nigerians

Despite high hope by Nigerians for some reprieve from the hardship caused by the recession, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has predicted that this year’s Christmas might be celebrated without much relief.

 According to the Minister, until there is an improvement on Nigeria’s oil export, the future does not look brighter than what the situation is presently.

 Speaking with journalists in Asaba, Delta State on Friday, Mohammed explained that some of the steps so far taken to address the recent economic recession, including job creation and easing means of doing business in Nigeria could only work if the militants and others sabotaging the efforts of government cooperate to build the nation.

 The minister’s comments coincided with the assertion by the NNPC that Nigeria has lost about N2.1 trillion in oil revenue since the resumption of hostilities by the militants in the Niger Delta region from January to October 2016.

 Mohammed said the losses , which the country had been suffering from the hands of the militants would have been used to elevate the lives of the average Nigerian as well as put the country back to its economic status among the comity of nations.

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 “If this fails to hold, the forthcoming Christmas will be celebrated without much relief as a result of the current hardship occasioned by economic recession,” he forecasted.

 Apparently disturbed by reactions from his audience to his doom-message, the Minster tried all he could to qualify his earlier statement as he added: “Every day the government is recording success; only recently both the IMF and World Bank released a quite encouraging report that the measure government is taking is definitely leading to a lot of progress.

 “I can assure you that before Christmas we will be able to resolve a lot of the challenges that we have, especially in the Niger Delta area”

 He assured that once the production improves, there will be more money in the system, citing what he described as seven big wins by the president in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources which are the steps Nigeria is taking to ensure that even if we are diversifying the economy, oil and gas still remains a major pillar of the Nigerian economy.

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