Worried by the dwindling economic condition in Nigeria, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately save the country from the present economic recession by establishing a formidable team of experts with an economic blueprint that would prevent Nigeria from total collapse.

“In Nigeria, we have not been serious for quite a long while. But that we have not been serious for a long while doesn’t mean that if you campaign on the basis of bringing change, you will now make you to continue with what was not working in the country before,” he said.

According to Makarfi, who was reacting to the current economic woes in the country, it has become apparent that Buhari’s government was not prepared for governance when it took over government in May last year.

The former governor of Kaduna State said: “Right from campaign time, I would have expected the All Progressives Congress (APC) to have had an economic team and to have prepared a certain template for economically reversing any negative trend in the country.

“Of course, it is also true that it is only when you are there that you will know the details of what is in place.

“What it means is that whatever you may have developed, when you now know the true position, you amend it.”

Makarfi blamed Buhari’s government for allowing the economy to nose-dive into the present condition, noting: “It should not have taken few months to amend those issues on the basis of what you have found on ground.

“Honestly speaking, I think there is some slackness. I have earlier said that those in the cabinet are all capable in their own right.

“However, the cabinet should be a good mix. And to me, it doesn’t appear as a good mix that can deal with the kind of economic recession we are facing today.

“A cabinet should be a good balance of people from different fields, background and experiences, so that it can be able to deal with the kind of situation facing us now as a
nation.”

Meanwhile, Makarfi has cautioned the Federal Government on the proposed foreign loans, saying: “Borrowing is good, but it depends on what you borrowing for and where you are borrowing and the terms attached to the borrowing.”

The PDP chief advised his colleagues in the National Assembly to properly scrutinise the proposed loan profile and look at all the facts and issues to determine if they should really borrow, the terms and for what purpose.