The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has criticised Mr Gbenga Olawepo-Hassim over his claim that Nigeria's economy performed better under former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan compared to the administration of President Bola
Tinubu.
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In a statement released on Friday and signed by the party's spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, the Lagos APC described Olawepo-Hassim's comments as "misleading, selective, and intellectually shallow,ÔÇØ suggesting that he either lacks understanding of public sector economic management or deliberately misrepresented historical economic data for political purposes.
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The party argued that the Obasanjo and Jonathan administrations presided over periods of record-high oil revenues, robust external reserves, and comparatively lower population pressure, yet failed to implement structural reforms that could have shielded the economy from future shocks.
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"The Obasanjo and Jonathan governments benefited from historic oil booms, generating hundreds of billions of dollars from crude exports,ÔÇØ the statement read.
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"Despite these advantages, they neglected economic diversification, failed to stabilise the power sector, and continued the unsustainable fuel subsidy regime and multiple exchange rate system.ÔÇØ
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According to the Lagos APC, these governments entrenched consumption-driven policies without corresponding productivity growth, leaving the economy vulnerable to volatility.
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Highlighting the Jonathan administration, the party cited enduring challenges inherited by subsequent governments:
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"The Jonathan government left office with a collapsed power sector despite billions in expenditure, a heavily import-dependent economy, a fuel subsidy system rife with corruption, and an emerging currency crisis before 2015. These are documented facts, not opinions,ÔÇØ the statement emphasised.
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The party stressed that President
Tinubu assumed office facing an economy propped up by unsustainable subsidies, foreign exchange arbitrage benefiting select interests, and a fiscal framework inadequate for a nation of over 200 million citizens.
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"President Bola Ahmed
Tinubu did not inherit an economic system in comfort; he inherited structural distortions that previous administrations lacked the political courage to address,ÔÇØ the Lagos APC said.
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Defending the current administration's policy choices, the party underscored the necessity of subsidy removal and foreign exchange market unification.
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"These measures were not experiments, they were inevitable corrections long postponed by administrations more concerned with optics than outcomes,ÔÇØ the statement said.
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The Lagos APC also warned against "revisionist narrativesÔÇØ and urged the public not to mistake political commentary for rigorous economic analysis.
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"Nigeria's economy is too vast, too complex, and too consequential to be reduced to nostalgia or selective criticism. This is about the economic well-being of over 200 million citizens,ÔÇØ it added.
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The statement also asserted that history would ultimately credit President
Tinubu's decisive leadership over populist critique.
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"When critical decisions were required, President
Tinubu acted with courage, clarity, and conviction, while critics relied on selective memory and convenient amnesia,ÔÇØ the Lagos APC said.
