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Minister of works, David Umahi, says the president Bola Tinubu-led administration should not be blamed for the present economic hardship across the country.
Daily Trust reports that Nigerians have complained over the state of the economy amid the government’s reform policies.
President Tinubu announced economic reforms last May, including the scrapping of subsidies on fuel and the floating of the naira.
But speaking with journalists Sunday in Ebonyi, Umahi attributed the hardship to some preceding factors.
According to him, past administrations had build-ups of farmers and herders conflicts among other forms of insecurity which, he said, adversely affected food production.
He said: “I was the Chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC) committee on resolving farmers and herders conflicts and I settled such conflicts in several states, especially in the north.
“Such settlements yielded fruits but the problem had dealt a lot of blows on food production with farmers prevented from going to their farms.
“It is not possible to solve the problems within such a period in office and we should ask ourselves how to solve them.
“President Tinubu is fortunately tackling the problems with his policies and when something has gotten to the climax, you don’t expect it to dissolve overnight.”
He said the South-East geopolitical zone for instance was presently free from incessant farmers and herders conflict.
This, he said, has shown that the President had solved the region’s major problem.
“That is why we should not join the protests on economic hardship because if you remove the gunmen issue, the zone will be safe and farmers can work,” the minister said.
