The main opposition party in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has condemned insensitive comments by the country’s finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, following confirmation of Nigeria’s economic recession by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Adeosun took to social media to reassure Nigerians that the Muhammadu Buhari led-government was taking right steps towards fixing the nosediving economy. In one her tweets, which has since been deleted following citizen backlash, the finance minister said, “recession is a word”.
“The strongest of all warriors are these two, Time and Patience. I know people are concerned about Recession. Recession is a word…” she said.
But the PDP is not impressed and issued a statement on Thursday, September 1, 2016 on Twitter blasting the Adeosun saying she was out of line for belittling the economic hardship brought on Nigerians by the misrule and lack of proper economic policies by President Buhari.
“Mrs. Kemi Adeosun’s statement yesterday was an out of line and insensitive attempt,” the PDP statement, e-mailed to The Trent, said.
1. @mrskemiadeosun’s statement yesterday was an out of line, insensitive attempt at signalling. pic.twitter.com/xvj2F2RXTP
— #VoteAndStay (@voteandstay) September 1, 2016
2. Contrary to her belief, “recession” is not just a word. It’s a horrible reality for millions of Nigerians who face increasing…1/2
— #VoteAndStay (@voteandstay) September 1, 2016
“Contrary to her belief, “recession” is not just a word. It’s a horrible reality for millions of Nigerians who face increasing difficulty in putting food on the table and meeting basic everyday financial obligations.
“It’s all the more shocking that her comment was made on the day when Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released a report stating that 4,580,602 have lost their jobs since May 29, 2015.
“Her comments fly against the reality of rising food costs, parents withdrawing children from schools due to fee increments, rising transportation costs, rents and other such everyday expenditure.
“Her comments are an insult to suffering Nigerians and make mockery of the pain we bear as a result of the sheer incompetence and lack of ability of the Muhammadu Buhari administration of which she is an integral part.
“While 4,580,602 may seem like a statistic, these are real people with real responsibilities.
“We urge Mrs. Adeosun to apologise for her insensitive comments, to stop speaking like a motivational speaker and act like the minister of finance that she is,” the statement, which was signed by Mr. Deji Adeyanju, the PDP director of new media, said.
