The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has alerted the nation over an impending collapse of the Nigerian economy, unless the Federal Government cuts the astronomical cost of running a bloated government and takes urgent measures to diversify the economy and shore up the production of oil, which remains the mainstay of the country’s economy.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party warned that if the listed measures were not taken, the government may not be able to pay its bills, including workers’ salaries, within the next few years.
”Contrary to what the FG may say, this warning is not about crying wolf but is actually borne out of a patriotic fervour devoid of politicking, which is the usual refrain of this government when alerted to its shortcomings,” it said.
”We will like to be proven wrong, but this will depend on uncommon and monumental effort, rather than on the basis of the usual canned response from the government.”
ACN said the red alert was based on four empirical evidence: The cost of oil production which has skyrocketed from four (4) dollars per barrel in 2002 to 35 dollars presently; the massive corruption in the oil sector, with oil theft and sabotage leading to lost production and costing Nigeria some 6 billion dollars annually in crude theft; the sharp fall in the discovery of new oil and gas reserves due to the low investment in the sector, and the most serious of all, the challenge posed by alternative sources of global supply of oil and gas.
The party therefore, called on the Federal Government to put on its thinking cap in order to rise to the challenges listed above and save Nigeria’s economy from collapse, adding that any delay could mean that those in charge of the country’s affairs would not have enough time to change course as the ship of state heads for the rocks.
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