The Presidency yesterday, called on Nigerians to be wary of persons it described as “critics with selfish ambitions and ulterior motives.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made the call in a statement made available to journalists in response to the rising criticisms against the administration.
Although Shehu did not mention any name, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been a leading critic of the Muhammadu Buhari administration over alleged non-performance.
Only on Monday, Obasanjo attacked Buhari again and described his government as a failure.
But the presidential spokesman said Nigerians should count the blessings the administration had brought to the country’s economy, and the other areas the government was making effort to address the people’s needs.
Shehu said, “We are only saying that we must learn to pause and count our blessings.
“The loud voices of critics with selfish ambitions and ulterior motives should not be a veil that keeps Nigerians blind to the many ways God has blessed us and improved our lot through the Buhari administration.”
Shehu recalled that in 2017, the World Bank ranked Nigeria among the top 10 reforming economies in the world. That, he said, was in recognition of the growth and development-oriented economic policies of the administration.
According to him, foreign investors and businessmen now arrive in Nigeria and get their visas at the airport without any hassle.
He said this was one of the reasons why Nigeria advanced 24 steps in the global ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings of the World Bank.
He added, “The government is spending more on infrastructure than previous administrations, despite earning barely half of what the country earned from oil between 2011 and 2014 when the product was selling for an average of $110 per barrel.
“The latest GDP figures show continued growth after the Buhari administration successfully brought the country out of recession, with virtually all the sectors of the economy now on the rebound, and significant progress recorded in agriculture.
“This administration has also ushered in significant progress in agriculture, where output has risen in local production and Nigeria is now importing 80 to 90 per cent less rice than in previous years.”
