Presidency claps back against HSBC

The Presidency seems to have taken umbrage against a report released by HSBC, In a series of tweets, Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, accused the bank of being complicit in money laundering for the Abacha regime.

The Presidency wishes to make clear to all Nigerians, and particularly the global banking giant @HSBC which said the second term of Pres. @MBuhari would stunt the economy, that what killed Nigeria’s economy in the past was the unbridled looting of state resources by leaders,…

— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) September 15, 2018

…the type which was actively supported by HSBC.

— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) September 15, 2018

A bank that soiled its hand with ‘‘millions of US dollars yet-to-be-recovered Abacha loot’’, and continued until a few months ago to shield the stolen funds of one of the leaders of the Nigerian Senate…

— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) September 15, 2018

…has no moral right whatsoever to project that a “second term for Mr. Buhari raises the risk of limited economic progress and further fiscal deterioration.”

— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) September 15, 2018

Rather, we ask them to heed President Buhari’s constant refrain: return our stolen assets, then see how well we will do.

— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) September 15, 2018

What the report said

In the report titled Nigeria, Papering Over The Cracks, the bank stated that while higher oil prices had boosted Nigeria’s external position and provided a veneer of macro stability, the economy’s oil dependency and structural shortcomings are evident in a tepid pace of growth and fiscal fault.

A second term for President Muhammadu Buhari, however, raises the risk of limited economic progress and further fiscal deterioration, prolonging the stagnation of his first term, particularly if there is no move towards completing the reform of the exchange rate system or fiscal adjustments that diversify Government revenues away from oil.