Fashola Confirms Growth of Economy Under Jonathan, Says Omokri

A speech credited to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola that the economy grew, regardless of epileptic supply of electricity during the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan vindicates the former president.

A statement, yesterday, by Mr. Reno Omokri, an aide of former president Goodluck Jonathan, said, “Babatunde Raji Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, has exposed both his boss, President Buhari, and his colleague, Lai Mohammed, as liars who will say anything, no matter how untrue, to cling to power and demonise former President Jonathan and the PDP. 

Omokri said, “Speaking on February 1, 2018 at a civil society engagement workshop on the Power Sector Recovery Programme in Abuja, Fashola in trying to defend himself from allegations of ineptitude as regards the epileptic power supply in the country, ended up vindicating both Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP, albeit unintentionally. 

“At that event, Mr. Fashola said: ‘We hear all our so-called experts who say (non-availability of) power is why the economy of Nigeria is not growing. That is not factual and it is not correct. At the time when we had less power in 2013 and 2014, the economy of this country was growing at seven per cent per annum. We had less power then, than we have now, but the economy was growing.’

Omokri said, “Nigerians can now see that Mr. Fashola, in a Freudian slip, was made by God, to expose the truth that his boss, his party and his colleagues have been trying to suppress for the past three years, namely that former President Jonathan developed and grew Nigeria’s economy at an unprecedented and consistent growth rate of over 6% per annum, and handed over a thriving economy that was projected by CNNMoney to be the third fastest growing economy in the world when Dr. Jonathan handed over power to President Buhari. 

“Unfortunately, due to the ineptitude of the Buhari administration, a booming economy became an economy in recession in just one year under the All Progressive Congress.

“And this is not the only recent example of the vindication of former President Jonathan by the Buhari administration. 

“Only recently, Lai Mohammed responded to the letter by former President Olusegun Obasanjo by claiming that the Buhari administration had increased the nation’s foreign reserve from the $24 billion it met to $40 billion.

“The question for Lai Mohammed is this: From whom did Buhari inherit the $24 billion? From ghosts? From Killer Fulani herdsmen?”

He said, “In light of the vindicating statements by Raji Fashola, I hereby call on both President Muhammadu Buhari and Lai Mohammed to tender an unreserved apology to former President Jonathan and the PDP, and to henceforth commit to returning Nigeria’s economy at least to the state that they met it when Dr. Jonathan handed over power to them on May 28, 2015.”