Peter Obi Blasts APC-led Govt Over Claims Of Inheriting Bankruptcy

Peter Obi 

Peter Obi Responds to the Federal Government's Allegations That He Is the Survivor of a Bankrupt Nation

The Federal Government's assertion that Peter Obi, the Labour Party's nominee for president in the 2023 elections, inherited an impoverished country has prompted him to respond.

Obi claimed that the Federal Government's allegations were "without foundation" and that it had not disclosed the entire scope of the nation's financial issues in a statement that was made public on Thursday.

Obi said that the Federal Government had raised the nation's debt from N12.6 trillion in 2015 to N87 trillion in 2023 and that no important development indices, like as security, health, education, or the fight against poverty, had been improved.

"Instead, the condition of the nation on every development index got worse, leading to the present sad state. Nigerians know things are bad, and they experience it daily. What they now want to hear regularly are measurable and verifiable steps to improve the situation." Obi said.

"I just read yesterday, a widely publicised story from the present APC-led Federal Government saying that they inherited a bankrupt nation from their predecessor APC administration. But the story failed to disclose what they inherited, which had qualified us for bankruptcy status." Obi said.

"One major characteristic of responsible governance is transparency and strict accountability. This demands that the government disclose exactly the degree of deficit they inherited. What is inherited should be disclosed to enable the public to know where we are and where we are headed. Recall that the previous APC Government made a similar claim in 2015 against the PDP administration that handed over to them without telling the nation what it actually inherited."

Obi also questioned the justification for a few of the spending items included in the newly approved supplemental budget.

"The alarm raised by the government about the bad state of our finances raises questions about the rationale behind some expenditure items in the supplementary budget recently signed into law," Obi said.

"The present revelation also goes to buttress the argument that I have made since electioneering season that the cost of governance is too high and must be drastically reduced. A bankrupt country should channel every available resource into funding critical development sectors like security, healthcare, education, and eradication of poverty by addressing youth unemployment, not spending in non-essential areas. So, what we expect are measurable and verifiable steps to improve the situation."