Jonathan Handed Over $550bn Economy To Buhari, Former Minister Blasts Amaechi, Presents Facts
- Osita Chidoka has expressed disappointment over the comment made by the minister of transportation Amaechi regarding funds Jonathan left in office
- The former minister took to his official Facebook page to disclose the exact amount ex-president Jonathan handed over to the Buhari administration in 2015
- The minister urged Ameachi and the APC government to focus on the job assigned by the people and stop the blame game
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
Anambra state- A former minister of aviation, Osita Chidoka, says Nigeria’s ex-leader Goodluck Ebele Jonathan handed over $550billion economy to President Muhammadu Buhari, dismissing the claim of insufficient funds.
Chidoka faulted the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, over his claim that Jonathan, did not leave money in the treasury enough to sustain the country for three weeks.
In a post shared on his Facebook page and seen by Legit.ng, on Tuesday, December 28, the PDP chieftain insisted that the Jonathan administration left a foreign reserve of $28.6 billion.
Source: Facebook
He also pointed out that the administration handed over to Buhari $5.6 billion Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Limited dividends and a 2015 budget of over N4 trillion along with a total of $2.2 billion in the Excess Crude Account.
PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
Chidoka reminded Amaechi that he did not become a minister until six months after Jonathan left office, which he said made it necessary to provide the former Rivers governor with the facts.
In the statement titled, “Gov. Amaechi’s Statement on 2015 Foreign Reserve: Setting the Records Straight,” Chidoka said he was surprised and disappointed at comments made by the minister
He wrote:
"The Jonathan administration handed over a $550 billion economy (largest in Africa and 26th globally) and a diversified economy.
"On May 29, 2015, President Jonathan left behind an economy with a stable currency, where the Naira exchanged for ₦199 to $1, and Nigeria had a single-digit inflation rate. Today, after 2406 days of the current administration headline inflation rate hovers above 15%.
"Under President Jonathan, the unemployment rate stood at 7.5% (better than European Union) today. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, six and half years after Governor Amaechi's government came in, unemployment is 33%.
"Minister Amaechi and the APC government should stop this perennial blame game and focus on redeeming its tattered image by signing the electoral bill passed by a legislature it controls."
ICTN: CASER accuses Rotimi Amaechi, Hassan Bello of alleged corruption
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that a group, Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER), has accused a serving minister former government official of breaching public trust.
The executive director of CASER, Barrister Frank Tietie, made the allegations at a press conference attended by a Legit.ng reporter in Abuja.
He specifically accused the minister of transportation and Hassan Bello, the immediate past Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council of blatant disregard for legal standards of public procurement.
BudgIT raises alarm over Nigeria's spending problem
In other news, Gabriel Okeowo, the chief executive officer of BudgIT, a civic tech non-profit organisation, has said that Nigeria has a spending problem.
He made the statement while reacting to the findings by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that 257 projects amounting to N20.138 billion were duplicated in the 2021 budget.
Okeowo said it is time for critical stakeholders to come to terms with the expenditure inefficiency problem.
Source: Legit.ng
