The former Deputy Chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr. Abubakar
Olanrewaju Sulaiman, has stated that President Muhammadu Buhari lied for
claiming that he inherited an ‘empty treasury’ from the immediate past
administration.
Suleiman,
who was a federal minister, disclosed that the former administration under the
leadership of Goodluck Jonathan left behind the sum of US$30billion.
The
ex-minister strongly warned the Buhari government against accusing Jonathan of
milking the nation’s treasury dry.
Suleiman
was reacting to a statement credited to President during an interactive session
with journalists in Abuja, where he was quoted as saying that his government
met “virtually an empty treasury.”
In
a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, Sulieman described the claim as
“unscientific and unfair”, noting that the immediate past administration “left
behind close to US$30billion.”
He
said, “Government can’t tell us that there is no Excess Crude Account (ECA),
Sovereign Wealth Fund(SWF) or are we saying the Federal Inland Revenue
Service(FIR) and related agencies had not in the last one month been generating
revenue?
“Until
they are able to prove they had no receipts from these government agencies in
the last one month before Nigerians can now buy into Mr. President’s claims of
an empty treasury.”
He
recalled that under the Jonathan’s administration, Nigeria was rated the
largest economy in Africa and 26th largest in the world.
He
said, “Money made by government is meant to be spent, and this the immediate
past administration did responsibly. Every government, even in the so-called
western world, including the US which today remains one of the largest debtor
nations in the world, government operates on deficit.
“Is
it on record that President Obama inherited US$3 triillion debt, a collapsed
banking sector and mortgage industry, yet he never raised any alarm. None of
these has happened in Nigeria under Jonathan.
“Under
Jonathan, Nigeria became the largest Africa economy and 26th in the world
amidst deadly security challenges and dwindling international prices of oil. In
spite of all these, the FG never owed salary.
“Upon
inception of Jonatha’s administration, it is on record that the price of oil at
the global stage was over 100 dollars per barrel and at the close of the
administration, it dropped to 46dollars. Yet, there wasn’t collapse of
government and federal civil servants were paid as at when due.
“It
will be misleading therefore for our respected President Muhammadu Buhari and
indeed the ruling APC to claim to have met an empty treasury.”
He
further reminded the new government that “aspiration to governance is a call of
meeting and confronting challenges headlong. So, we urge the APC-led government
to hit the ground running as promised Nigerians by confronting the challenges.
“We
are not in doubt of the capability of Mr. President to do it. He should
therefore get to business, put in place structures and personnel to redeem the
pledges made to the Nigeria”.
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