How Will Obasanjo React To This? – El-Rufai Makes Huge Revelation On Obasanjo’s Second Term

How Will Obasanjo React To This? – El-Rufai Makes Huge Revelation On Obasanjo’s Second Term

Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna state, has stated that the second term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the “most successful” period in Nigeria concerning economic growth, job creation, and inflation rate.

During the years from 2003 to 2007, Obasanjo served his second term as president following his initial four-year tenure. El-Rufai attributed this success to Nigeria’s return to effective integrated planning during that period, combined with a stroke of good fortune.

Speaking at the Africa In the World conference in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on Friday, he stressed the critical importance of proper planning for facilitating economic growth in any country.

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“We have a planning commission in Nigeria but it has not been as effective,” the former governor said.

El-Rufai said planning committees are “absolutely relevant” in most developing countries.

“If you look at Nigeria’s economic trajectory, the most successful four to five-year period of economic growth, job creation, and reduced inflation was the period of the second term of President Obasanjo in 2003 to 2007, when for the first time, the country went back into proper integrated planning and we also got lucky,” he said.

“Oil prices began to rise but we did not waste the windfall because we had planned. We had an excess crude account (ECA) that was based on fiscal rule that any surpluses above a certain benchmark price of crude oil goes to that savings account.

“And with that, we were able to get rid of all our foreign debt.”

El-Rufai said Nigeria’s fiscal health was at its best in 2007, such that when the global financial crisis took place in 2008, “Nigeria did not feel anything”.

“Nothing was felt in Nigeria because Nigeria had a big savings account; we had huge reserves and we were able to absorb the shock without any internal problems unlike most countries,” he said.

To achieve accelerated economic growth, el-Rufai said long-term and coordinated planning as well as the inclusion of all stakeholders are crucial.