Economy: Buhari Saved Nigeria From Becoming Like Venezuela – Ngige

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for saving the country from becoming like Venezuela plagued with political instability and economic crisis.

Ngige stated that Buhari’s leadership qualities have also saved Nigerians from becoming refugees in neighbouring countries like Niger, Benin Republic and Cameroon.

According to Ngige, President Buhari made agriculture the first signature programme of the administration and provided food security for Nigerians.

He made this known during his induction as an honorary fellow of the Institute of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Corporate Governance (INSLEC) in Abuja on Wednesday.

The former Anambra governor stated that the current economic challenges experienced in the country were caused by past governments as a result of poor planning over the years.

He said: “A good leader must be an implementation man. He should be knowledgeable because, after the vision, he will dissect and crystalise them. He should be a jack of all trades and master of all.

“He may not score distinction in all but should be able to score distinction in many. He must also be courageous to implement hard decisions. If you don’t implement courageously, some of the visions will die or will not be implemented for the good of all.

“He must also be compassionate, knowing when to temper justice with mercy, to show the human part of him. He should exude milk of human kindness.

“I know that our country is passing through a very rough time now because we have not planned well. It is not this administration. We know we were all dependent on oil.

“So, when oil prices came crashing and when security issues arose, disrupting production, we were caught napping. Because of that, we went into recession. Later on, COVID-19 forced us to go into a second recession. We are not yet out of the woods.

“We thank God. I am part of this government. I know that if we don’t have the kind of leader that we have who is strong like President Muhammadu Bihari, the experience of Nigeria would have been like that of Venezuela.

“The citizens of Nigeria would have spilt into Cameroon, Niger and other places as refugees. We were looking forward to it. But he forced us all to go into agriculture. We made agriculture the first signature programme of the administration and provided food security so that we can eat whatever we grow here.”