[Mhiz Rebecca]

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says the
federal government will stop making excuses about the state of the
economy, but work around the clock to pull the country out of
recession.
The government had on several occasions blamed the Goodluck
Jonathan administration for the current situation.
But speaking at the fourth Commonwealth Public Relations
Congress in Lagos, Mohammed assured Nigerians of government’s
commitment to implementing realistic policies that would reverse
the trend.
“We are not unaware of the harsh effects of the recession on the
citizens. We share in their pains and we make no excuses as we
continue to work round the clock to ensure that this tough time is
quickly brought to an end. The good news is that the prognosis for
a quick end to the recession is encouraging,” Segun Adeyemi,
Mohammed spokesman, quoted him as saying.
“As the saying goes, the recession is a bend in the road, not the
end of the road. The challenge for us as a government is to turn
the bend, and we are doing just that.”
Mohammed said while the Buhari administration rode to power on
the crest of change, there can be no change without discomforts.
He, however, assured Nigerians that with persistence on the part of
the government and perseverance on the part of the people, there
was light at the end of the tunnel.
The minister said the government was investing massively in
infrastructural development – roads, railways, power, and creating
jobs in the process – as part of efforts to pull the country out of
recession.
Mohammed also said the alternative funding of the oil and gas
industry joint ventures, which has been approved by the federal
executive council, would also impact positively on the economy.
“(This alternative funding) is set to increase the net federal
government revenue per annum by about $2 billion, lead to an
increase in national production from the current 2.2 million barrels
per day to 2.5 mbpd by 2019, reduce unit technical costs from
$27.96/barrel oil equivalent (boe) to $18/boe and double the net
payments to the federation account, from about $7Billion to over
$14Billion by 2020,” he said.
“The funding mechanism would also allow the JV business to be
self-funding, restore investor confidence; raise the prospects of
higher investment in growth activities by the partners and arrest
production decline.”