The Presidency has declared that contrary to the claims of the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the nation’s economy is not in danger of collapse. It insisted that all globally recognised indices indicate that the Nigerian economy is stable and on an upward beat.

A statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, described the claim by the ACN as lacking in substance and running contrary to the verdicts of reputable international rating agencies who have consistently upgraded the country’s economic ratings in the last one and a half years.

According to the presidential spokesman, contrary to the claim of the ACN that the cost of producing a barrel of oil had “skyrocketed” to 35 dollars in 2012 from 4 dollars in 2002, the actual cost of production stands at approximately 17 dollars per barrel. The cost of oil production per barrel had NEVER risen as high as the opposition claims, Okupe said. He added that even at the height of restiveness in the Niger Delta area and its consequential effect on the upstream oil sector, the per barrel cost of oil production in Nigeria never rose above 18 dollars. He made it clear that when compared with a sum of between 50 and 70 dollars per barrel spent on production of shale oil by the United States of America, the cost of producing oil in Nigeria which is 17 dollars per barrel as well as a prevailing sale price of over 100 dollars per barrel does not support the alarming claim of the opposition.

The statement added that the second leg upon which the ACN based its wrong assertions is similarly laden with deceptive undertones. It said:

“For a fact, there are incidents of crude oil theft which had existed for several decades before this administration came on board. However, the truth is that this is currently being tackled through proactive steps by the government. The opposition is most probably aware of the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan recently secured the co-operation of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and French President on measures to prevent refineries in Europe from buying crude oil stolen from Nigeria.

“Similarly, the Jonathan administration has provided more and better surveillance boats for the Nigerian Navy to enhance patrol of our coastal waters. This has resulted in arrest of several vessels engaged in oil theft and these were well reported in the Nigerian print and electronic media.”

The statement drew ACN’s attention to the Petroleum Industry Bill currently before the National Assembly, noting that it was conceived by President Jonathan to provide for best practice processes for acreage availability, bidding and awards and therefore address the problems of dwindling oil and gas exploratory opportunities, and corruption among other problems in the sector.

It added that the need to diversify the Nigerian economy and reduce dependence on oil has also been the driving force of the federal government’s massive investment in agriculture in a manner unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria.

According to the statement, “In the year 2012 alone, the agricultural sector accounted for over 75% of all non-oil export; the highest output in 25 years.”

While agreeing that there is indeed a need to reduce the cost of governance at all tiers of government in Nigeria, the statement explains that that President Jonathan has shown practical commitment through a reduction in recurrent expenditure from 74 percent in 2011 to 71 percent in 2012 and 68 percent in the 2013 budget adding that the medium term target is to reach 60 percent recurrent expenditure.

Okupe said it is of concern that a political party, individual or any organisation worth its salt would choose to ignore the positive rating of the Nigerian economy by reputable international rating agencies in the last one and a half years of the Jonathan administration but rather conjure imaginary figures to make wild claims.

“One wonders if the ACN would have ignored the ratings by Fitch, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and JP Morgan if those bodies had turned in a negative verdict on the Nigerian economy,” he said. “The only conclusion one can draw from this is that the opposition has once again chosen the myopic and jaundiced path of public policy analysis rather that base its assessment on verifiable, objective indices. Unfortunately, a matter as sensitive as a nation’s economy ought not to be subjected to this fashion of blind politicking.”

While assuring Nigerians that the federal government remains committed to implementing sound economic policies and development of the nation’s infrastructure, the presidency urged politicians to exhibit statesmanship in addressing issues of critical nature rather than seeking to score cheap points in desperate manner.

•Photo: Presidential spokesman Dr. Doyin Okupe says ACN stands accused of raising a false alarm.