Tobi Soniyi in Abuja
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), monday said destruction of oil and gas pipelines by the Niger Delta militants contributed to the present economic situation in the country.
Osinbajo spoke at the Quarterly Business Forum between private sector investors and the presidency, held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.
The vice president said the country was losing a lot of revenue due to pipeline vandalism.
According to him, the federal government was making all efforts to ensure that the economy was back on track.
He expressed regret that Nigerians had been criticising the government instead of engaging in critical analysis of what led to the present recession in the country.
Osinbajo explained that instead of the production of 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day, less than 1.1 million barrels could be produced because of the activities of the militants.
He said the situation had affected the expected revenue accruing to the government from sale of crude oil.
Also at the forum, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, said food inflation rose to 15.8 per cent while core inflation was 16.9 per cent in July.
He stated that with the fall in crude oil prices from over $110 per barrel in 2014 to less than $30 per barrel in the 1st quarter of 2016, the market expectations were that prices would remain unstable
