President Muhammadu Buhari has attributed the decline in oil production revenue to the insurgency in the South South and North East when he took office and was being carried out by militants and Boko Haram.
The President was pleased that his administration had been able to cope with the threat, but he regretted that those who were meant to discuss the issues the nation was facing had not done so.
When he made this statement on Tuesday during his official visit to Imo State to dedicate the State House of Assembly complex, the Owerri/Okigwe, and the Orlu/Owerri roads, Buhari praised Governor Hope Uzodimma in particular for the significant road improvements in the State.
He pledged that his administration will keep assisting the State in obtaining more democratic benefits.
“If Nigeria will recollect since 1999 and 2015 when we came, I like people to check, OPEC projection was 2.1 million barrel per day of every cost of hundred American dollar per barrel,so Nigeria was earning for this time 2.1 million times 100 times a number of this production .
“But look at the State of infrastructure, look at the railways it was virtually killed,power,we are still struggling, when we came it was unfortunate,the militant in the South south were unleashed , the production went down to half a million barrel per day and again it’s unfortunate the cost of petroleum went down to half a million dollar per day.
” Again unfortunate cost of petroleum went down from 28 to 27 dollars,looking at the problem in the northeast, ask any body from Borno or Adamawa how many local government were in the hand of Boko Haram,very fraudulent people, but now go and ask the hardworking governor of Borno, How many local governments in their hand now the government is in charge now.
“For relative time and resources, this administration has done extremely well,I have to say it because those who are supposed to say it are not saying it, I don’t know why.”
The President also challenged the nation’s elite to work with his administration to address insurgency, banditry, and other security issues that, in his view, impede even growth.
Despite the state government’s limited resources, he praised Uzodinma for his remarkable accomplishments in the State.
