The former President Olusegun Obasanjo has turned an
economist with his endorsement of Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun
despite increasing recession bites and clamour for her removal from the
Minister, reports ITRealms.
Speaking Tuesday at the ongoing National Council on Finance
and Economic Development (NACOFED) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Obasanjo expressed
optimism that things will soon be better in the country, and said that Mrs. Adeosun
is steering the economy at a difficult period, saying time will soon prove her
right.
"I want to specially acknowledge the efforts of the
Minister of Finance not because she is an Ogun State citizen, but because she
is doing a marvellous job in a difficult environment. You are too close to what
is happening now to be proved right, but time will soon prove you right,"
he declared
Also speaking, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun reiterated
the resolve of the present administration to use the opportunity created by the
current economic challenges to put the economy right structurally once and for
all in setting this nation back on the right path.
Giving the keynote address at the event opening said
"Underperformance can no longer be tolerated as the oil revenues that
insulated us from the impacts of this consistent underperformance are no longer
available."
The current administration, she said, has set out a robust
plan to reposition our economy to ensure that what we are experiencing today
will never recur in the history of our nation.
She disclosed that the Federal Government realises the fact
that Nigeria’s size, national endowments, population and future needs demand
that this economy perform at its optimal potential which it has yet to do in
its 55 plus years of independence.
Adeosun explained that the drive for the economic turnaround
is being led by the effective management of public money which will act as a
magnet for the mobilisation of private capital.
"We have committed to changing Nigeria from an economic
model that was driven by consumption to one that is driven by investment. We recognize
that in the short term this is causing a dislocation as we redirect funds from
recurrent day to day expenditure to the much needed capital investment that
will drive our economic future. Nigeria’s vast economy can only be productive
and profitable when it has the enabling infrastructure needed to unlock its
much vaunted potential. Our economic plans will provide the link between our
potential and our future," the Minister said.
Ayo Omidele/GEE
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Pix: Obasanjo speaking
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