Respected London-based financial publication, The Economist has predicted victory for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.
In the same vein, the magazine predicted the disintegration of the nation’s opposition before the 2019 polls.
The Economist also noted that there was little hope of Nigeria overcoming Boko Haram insurgency in the near future.
In its country appraisal for Nigeria in its latest edition, the publication said, “The president, Muhammadu Buhari, will win re-election in February, as a new opposition coalition may collapse before the vote.
“Given the outlook for continuing political weakness, there is little prospect of progress in the fight against the Islamist insurgency in the north, nationalism in the oil-producing Delta and secessionism in the Biafra region.
“Market-based reforms will languish, holding back growth yet again.”
The magazine also predicted a population increase to 201 million.
However, Atiku has disparaged The Economist’s prediction about the outcome of the 2019 presidential election, describing it as a “poorly-executed hatchet job”.
This is according to a Monday statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communication and Strategy, Mr. Phrank Shaibu.
The statement read in part, “The political camp of the PDP presidential candidate has described as a poorly-executed hatchet job, the prediction by The Economist of London, in which the magazine put on the garb of a partisan and made no pretenses to professionalism while predicting that President Buhari will win next year’s poll.
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“With the tacit endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term, in its current edition, the erstwhile influential news magazine has hit a new low by throwing all pretences to the wind to take up the job of presidential spokespersons.
‘’It is common knowledge that the Economist’s fortunes have taken a nosedive in recent months with its flip- flop on issues, especially as it pertains the upcoming presidential election in Nigeria.
“But the magazine hit a new low in its current edition , The World in 2019, where it made projections of issues and events that will shape the year 2019 across many countries including Nigeria.”
He said the story failed to meet the attributes of objectivity, balance and fairness.