AS the nation gears up for activities in the new year, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State and chairman of the state’s Economic Team, Godwin Obaseki, has said this year would be tough for Nigeria financially but hoped that states like Edo and others that have been able to develop prudent financial administration would be able to stand the test and eventually progress.

Obaseki, who spoke at the weekend in Benin City when he hosted reporters to an end of year party at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat, said: “I am coming here to felicitate with the fourth estate of the realm. It is quite easy for us to forget in a hurry where we are coming from. We have almost forgotten that they almost plunged this country into chaos and we have almost forgotten what God has done for us as a country and as a people by still keeping us as one in spite of what we went through.

“We have so much to be grateful to God for. Look at the criticism you were subjected to both from the opposition and the then ruling party but you survived so there is much for us to celebrate,”
 he said.

Obaseki, however, called for hope ahead of the challenges in the new year.

“There is no gainsaying that we are in a recession and recession is going to bite harder in 2016. Things will be difficult for us as individuals, family, community even as a state and also as a country. While we pray for the energy and strength to go through the year we are also optimistic that from the hardship of this recession, a state like Edo State will rise to be one of the foremost states in Nigeria.”

He charged journalists to remain positive in their thinking, adding that their role would go a long way in also imprinting optimism in the psyche of Nigerians.