The promoter of Stanbic IBTC, Atedo Peterside, has blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for Nigeria’s economic downturn saying his administration has erased the growth of the previous years, which has caused the country to lag behind other economies.
Peterside said the downturn began in 2015, stressing that Nigeria is lagging behind other economies because it had been rigged in favour of a few, and there is no level-playing ground.
“The Nigerian economy was one of the fastest-growing until 2014. It grew steadily for 15 years but since 2015, it has been declining steadily. We need to ask ourselves: what has changed?
“This is not because other economies are also not growing. Others are growing but we are lagging. Investor confidence in the Nigerian economy is declining because there’s no level-playing field for the investors. The economy has been rigged to favour a few. To grow the economy, we have to create a level-playing field,” he said.
The top banker however noted that there is growth in the ICT and creative sectors, where there is a level playing field and government is not involved.