Renowned economist and former presidential candidate, Professor Pat Utomi has berated the political class in the country, alleging that it is occupied by lazy persons interested in filling their pocket at the detriment of the people they were meant to serve.

The founder of the Lagos Business School also claimed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is populated by people who lack vision and the political will to salvage the economy of the nation.

He spoke during the just concluded lecture organized by the School of Media and Communications in Lagos state on the theme “Economic Survival in a Period of Dwindling Oil Prices”.

According to him, “Nigeria has a lazy political class that is not visionary enough to see the need to reposition the country in the right policies that will shore up growth and stability in our economy without the sense of playing selfish and dancing to personal gains and self-aggrandizement.

“The economic challenges being faced in the country can be attributed the to the visionlessness of the leaders at the helm of affairs.”

He maintained that rather than being people-oriented, their programmes were repressive.

“The policies of the Nigerian government tend more to abort national progress than enhance the overall development of the entire country.

“Corruption has created a custom of people with money without the thought or foresight to create jobs for its citizens.”

Speaking further, Utomi faulted the developmental policy of the federal government, noting that it is flawed with no clear-cut blueprint for national development and growth.