The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, has disclosed that the recent nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests forced the federal government to listen more to Nigerians’ yearnings.
Bagudu, who blamed the country’s current struggles on past administrations, said that efforts were in progress to improve the country’s fortunes.
The minister spoke on Wednesday at the ‘’Nigerian Economic Summit Group National Economic Dialogue on Nigeria’s Economic Future: 25 Years of Democracy and Beyond.’’
He explained that Tinubu has refused to play the blame game and is focused on making the economy better.
Bagudu said, “We have learnt that even the current protests have made us listen more. Whatever we are doing, we have taken the message that we need to do more, we need to do better, and we need to do it in a hurry.
“President Bola Tinubu has been very reluctant to reflect on the past and blame anybody, but the net effect is that despite efforts by previous administrations, especially in the last 25 years, we are not where we want to be.
“So, what do we do? It’s not because of anyone’s failing, but that is our reality. We have yet to achieve the income per capita that we require, and it’s not for lack of trying; it’s not for lack of successes. With the transformation in the telecommunication sector, at some point, we even reversed our gross domestic product, GDP.
“Our population has grown from 119 million in 1999 to about 230 million, almost double. Still, our oil production, for example, 2.2 million barrels in 1999, is now rather than 4 million, according to the doubling of our population, which is still under 1.5 million, reflecting cumulative years of underinvestment in the sector.
“So, our reality is that we are not where we want to be, and our constitution needs to be more transparent about what we should do. Chapter 2 of our Constitution, the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, clearly discusses the country’s political objectives. It is also very clear about the economic objectives—what kind of economy we want to run.”