Former deputy governor of the CBN, Kingsley Moghalu, has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s handling of Nigeria’s economy, which has sharply deteriorated since he assumed office in 2015, attributing it to lack of sound economic thinking.

The Nigerian economy plunged into its second recession under Buhari on Friday, the country’s statistics office said, recording a dive in gross domestic product for two consecutive quarters.

Peoples Gazette reported that the raging coronavirus pandemic and controversial fiscal and monetary policies of the Buhari administration and Central Bank of Nigeria were largely blamed for the latest recession.

Mr. Moghalu, a political economist says the pandemic is no excuse for the country’s degenerated economy.

“Covid-19 contributed to our current recession, but is no excuse,” Mr. Moghalu said in a series of tweets on Monday morning. 

“Nigeria’s econony has been weak for several years. Was the 2016 recession caused by COVID too?” he queried, while faulting the government’s economic methods.

Mr. Moghalu asserted that Nigeria’s economic transformation would remain an illusion until cerebral leaders are recruited at the highest level of governance.

“No surprise Nigeria is entering yet another recession. Until Nigeria is led by an intellectually competent leader, with visionary politics backed by sound economic thinking and knowledge, economic transformation will remain a dream. It’s for citizens to do the needful,” he tweeted.

Nigeria’s inflation rose to as high as 14.23 percent in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said in its latest inflation report, pegging the country’s food inflation at 17.38 percent.

Food inflation under the Buhari administration has risen by over 100 percent since 2015.