Gbenga Hashim-Olawepo, a former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has alleged that Nigeria’s economy has significantly deteriorated under the ten-year administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on Politics Today, a programme aired by Channels Television, Hashim-Olawepo said economic indicators show that Nigeria is worse off today than it was two decades ago.
He claimed that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is currently estimated at between $220 billion and $230 billion, citing figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. According to him, this is lower than the $268 billion GDP recorded in 2007 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo left office.
Hashim-Olawepo further stated that Nigeria was Africa’s largest economy at the end of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, with a GDP of about $574 billion, but has since fallen to fourth or fifth position on the continent.
“This decline happened under the APC,” he said. “When Goodluck Jonathan handed over power, Nigeria was the biggest economy in Africa. Today, we are struggling to maintain fourth or fifth place.
“What has happened to the Nigerian economy in ten years of APC governance is both tragic and disastrous.”
