“We knew recession was coming but past leaders did nothing to stop it” – Governor Badaru

Addressing reporters in Abuja, the governor said the signs of recession were obvious during the Jonathan’s administration but it carried on as if it was immune to them.

The Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru, has blamed the current challenges facing Nigeria on the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to Badaru, “On this recession, you have to look at the history. We had signals towards end of 2013 to 2014, it has been there. We knew that it was coming but the past leaders did nothing to stop it.

“The problem with the past leaders was that they should have started cutting these expenditures from time.

“For instance, what Obasanjo did with the cement was good. We stopped importation of cement into Nigeria. Why do we have to import rice, maize, why do we have to import wheat? Why do have to import milk?

“At the time the going was good, the government was supposed to give credible intervention for us like what Obasanjo did with the cement to handle the production of rice. It is no magic.

“Even though they knew the danger was coming, they built an economy based on what we got. It’s just like you are now earning N1million and spending it all in that year without thinking of your retirement, without thinking of you falling sick, without thinking that your wife will give birth to another child and that you’ll take the child to school.

“That is what these past leaders did, knowing fully well that the problem started since 2013 and they could have planned to keep us intact at this time.

“For instance, we all know that when time was good, we were earning like $3 billion monthly and our expenditure profile for importation rose to $2.5. So, at that time, we were able to stabilize the currency because the dollar we got we had enough to pay for what we needed.”