The minister of information and culture Lai Mohammed, has said the hardship being experienced in the country was not caused by the All Progressives Congress (APC)
Mr Mohammed stated this at a Special Town Hall Meeting for youths in Abuja which took place at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, December 20, 2016.
The minister, however, reiterated the commitment of the federal government towards ending the problem.
His words: “This government is unrelenting in its efforts to ease the hardship in the land, especially youth unemployment, brought about by years of poor or lack of planning, profligacy, mismanagement of funds, massive corruption and lack of investment in social investment programmes.
“We did not create today’s hardship, but we are resolved to end it and make life more abundant for our people. There is no question about that,” he added.
The minister also called for the “undiluted support” of Nigerians as necessary tool towards achieving the administration’s set goals.
In a similar vein, on Sunday night on the sidelines of a programme tagged “A special evening of music and camaraderie to usher in the Yuletide season”, organised by the Lagos State Government at the State House, Alausa, Lai Mohammed thanked Nigerians for the perseverance.
“We give thanks to God that we are alive; by the grace of God, next year will be much easier. “2016 has not been a particularly easy year even for governance because the economy has not done much as well as we thought.
“This is not because of incompetence on the part of government but because of the general global slowdown and this affected commodity prices,” Mohammed said.
According to him, despite all, the government tried its best, especially in the face of challenges with the Niger DeIta, and has more than thrice intervened and bailed out some states. Mohammed commended Nigerians for their perseverance and understanding and urged them to continue to support the government.