According to Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Nigeria went into a recession during the Goodluck Jonathan regime, but the situation was hidden from citizens.
Amaechi also claimed that then Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala pleaded with him to keep quiet about the financial crisis in the country.
The minister made the comments during a recent appearance on The Osasu Show.
“People just pick up words without knowing what words mean. Even under Goodluck we went into recession,” Amaechi said when asked about the current state of the economy.
“I am one of those who participated in the budget. We looked at what happened in the past and we discovered that actually if recession means three times (three quarters of negative economic growth), we have done more than the three times before we came in.
“The difference is that while our government is transparent and open, we are able to admit that, federal government was saying even to me as chairman of governor’s forum, ‘Amaechi, don’t say that again’.
“If you remember as Governor, I said we’re broke. The minister for finance came to my office in Abuja here and pleaded with me that I shouldn’t say it again. That if I said it, it would affect Nigeria in terms of investment that investors will run away. That I shouldn’t say we are broke. I should say we are cashed strapped. That was what Ngozi Okonjo Iweala told me,” he added.
Amaechi also said that the Muhammadu Buhari administration had already begun to deliver on its promise to improve power supply before militant group, Niger Delta Avengers began attacks on oil and gas installations leading to a drop.
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