Nigerian gov't dismisses call for president's resignation over economic recession

The call for resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari by the former ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the economy is preposterous, the Nigerian government said Friday.

Deji Adeyanju, a PDP spokesperson, had asked the President to resign for destroying the economy.

Official data released on Wednesday stated that Nigeria was in recession, with a 2.06-percent contraction seen in the second quarter Gross Domestic Product -- lowest growth rate in three decades.

"It is very painful in a situation where the armed robber is now the one sympathizing with the victim," Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, said at a media forum in Abuja, the nation's capital.

"I read in the dailies that the PDP said that the President must resign because of the economy," he added.

"While we are not going to indulge in blame game, I think we should also be honest enough to admit that we will not have been where we are today if they had done what they ought to do," Mohammed said.

The Nigerian official told reporters that Nigeria is not the only country hit by recession and crash in price of crude oil, but other countries made savings.

"Saudi Arabia today has about 600 billion U.S. dollars in reserve and this is by planning and saving for the future which the past administration failed to do during surplus," he added.

"This is not about blaming other administration, but we believe that one should be honest when criticizing," the minister said.

Mohammed assured that the government would do everything possible to bring the country out of the economic situation. Endit