Mixed reactions trail Buhari’s one-year rule

By ANDREW OJIEZEL

ORGANIZED Private Sector (OPS) has expressed divergence views on President Muhammadu Buhari’s one year governance.

The President of Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Chief (Dr) Bassey Edem, told National Daily that President Muhammadu Buhari has performed well in the area of security as well as in the fight against corruption, but not so well in the management of the economy.

“Businesses are closing down because of lack of forex. The Nigeria economy is going into recession because of poor fiscal and monetary policies. Even Foreign Direct investment has dropped because of lack of confidence on Nigeria. Boards of Agencies are yet to be reconstituted thereby not allowing the Agencies to function well. Everything seems to be grinding to a halt. May God help us?” He explained.

Also, the Director General, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, stated that the past one year has been awful and painful for all.

“The past one year has been awful and painful for all actors in the economy. The latest growth figure from the NBS tells the story much better: negative growth, higher inflation and higher unemployment rate. With this score sheet on the performance of the economy, I Wonder what else one has to say about the performance of the government. We should also look beyond this and examine other key indices such as security of Nigerians.”

ALSO SEE: Factsheet on Buhari’s first year in office

Osinowo who however commended Buhari’s regime noted that though the economy is still in shambles, “we must accept the fact that the government has only been in power for less than 12 months and given economic mess it inherited it might be too early in the day to assess it. Our focus should, therefore, be on its policy choices and the hope inherent in such policies to have a long term positive impact on the welfare of Nigerians.”

In the same vein, the Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, expressed partial satisfaction with the success recorded so far on the war against corruption and Boko Haram activities.

According to Muda, although economic situation confronting the country is a global economic reality, following the fall in global oil prices, he pointed out that Nigeria has peculiar weak economy based on insurgency; the Federal Government effort to stabilize the economy despite the challenges is commendable.

“We commend government’s efforts in fighting corruption which has become endemic in our system. For instance, the level of impunity in governance has reduced drastically due to government anti-corruption stance. This is creating positive brand for the country globally.”