Nigeria is technically bankrupted under Tinubu- Obaseki

Nigerians hoping for a better economy under President Bola Tinubu’s administration may begin to rethink after the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, disclosed that the country is technically bankrupt and the president lacks leadership courage to address the economic challenges.

Obaseki alleged that the Tinubu administration was stuck and rather than seek novel ideas, the government continued applying obsolete policies and programs to the country’s challenges.

The governor noted that the Federal Government under the current administration, rather than embracing the reality, the country’s leadership still operates publicly in denials, operating a government with more expenses than revenue.

He made the allegations on Thursday during an interview on a popular television show in Benin, Edo state capital, amid preparation for the governorship election in the state.

“The Federal government is handling the economy poorly, that is Nigeria is technically bankrupt. When you are bankrupt anywhere in the world, you are expected to restructure your affairs to meet your obligations.

“But the problem with Nigeria is that rather than address this, the central government displays wealth to make Nigerians and the international community believe the money is available as it was before now. And we have been in trouble for a while. 

“We do not have enough to cover our expenditures, and the sad thing is that we are not reducing them. If I have the opportunity to rule the country, I will embark on a total redesign of the country’s affairs”, he added.

Obaseki stressed that the federal government must adjust its strategy to economic management, allowing the states to oversee the resources within its domain and pay revenue to the central.

“The federal government lacks the capacity to manage the economy on the scale the Nigerian economy is today. We have the resources but we are not utilizing them. For instance, the country has over 100 oil wells in Edo but less than 60 are functioning. It is better that we handle the resources to the state to manage and they pay the resources or revenue to the central government. 

“We will not get the desired result when the central government still wants to micro-manage the economy the way it has been doing over the years. 

“It is sad that the current federal government is stocked in the past because it uses old strategies that have failed to yield results to resolve age-long problems.

“It is not that those appointed are not smart but they lack the courage to take the right decision for the country The problem of the country today is structural because the structure that we have today has expired. We need a new structure to run the country. We need to embark on restructuring. If it doesn’t happen, we will not be moving forward”.

Meanwhile, he faulted claims that his administration increased Edo state debt without projects attached to it.

“The bulk of our debts are foreign loans, which you have between 20-30 years moratorium. The servicing of those debts is not huge. Every time the Federal Government devalues the currency, the debt increases and that is why people claim that the government has borrowed more money from international financial organizations”.