“If PDP were still in power, they would have continued deceiving people by borrowing to fund stealing and wastage" - Shehu Garba

Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Shehu Garba, says if PDP were still in power, they would have continued deceiving Nigerians by borrowing ‎to fund stealing and wastage. He said this in a statement released today September 5th.

According to Garba, if the last administration had been prudent when the oil price was as high as $140 per barrel, Nigeria would not be in this present economic recession.

“We would not be suffering now if we had cash reserves, but we had regular supply of power, a good rail system, good roads and good housing. Now that the oil has fallen as low as $28 per barrel, it is very difficult to do what is needed but they must be done to save Nigeria. There is no other way if we want to be honest. If PDP were still in power, they would have continued deceiving people, by borrowing to fund stealing and wastage and the problem would have simply been postponed for future generations to face.

There are many who say that this government’s economic strategy is unclear whereas the previous government seemed well coordinated.” ‎Garba disclosed that efforts been made towards sanitizing the civil service has resulted in the discovery of 40,000 ghost workers.

"See what the current administration is doing to sanitise the huge salary bill by eliminating payroll fraud. So far, the federal payroll has been rid of about 40,000 ghost workers. More than N8 billion stolen monthly has been saved. We are also saving on wasteful expenses like first class travel and private jets for official trips. Currently, there is focus on key sectors (apart from oil) that can create jobs and or generate revenue such as agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing.”

He added that media team of President Buhari, which he is a part of, has failed to project his policies th‎at are geared towards enhancing the living conditions of Nigerians.

“I will make the confession that we, the officials hired to communicate government policies, that includes myself, have not done as well as we should have,” he said in the statement.