The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has advised the federal government to stop its monetary rascality and rally Nigerians to stem obvious fiscal slide.
Governor Obaseki said such proactive measures would prevent the prevailing economic challenges from degenerating further.
Obaseki had last week, raised the alarm over the nation’s economic situation, alleging that the federal government printed additional N50 to N60 billion to augment allocations to states in the month of March, in addition to borrowing.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had Wednesday while briefing the press after the weekly FEC meeting debunked Obaseki’s claim, saying the information was not only untrue but unfortunate.
“The issue that was raised by the Edo State Governor for me is very, very sad. Because it is not a fact. What we distribute at FAAC is a revenue that is generated and in fact distribution revenue is a public information. We publish revenue generated by FIRS, the Customs and the NNPC and we distribute at FAAC. So, it is not true to say we printed money to distribute at FAAC, it is not true”, Ahmed had said.
Reacting to Ahmed, Thursday, Governor Obaseki tweeted a statement titled: ‘Our Advice Is That We Stop Playing The Ostrich’, where he urged government to take urgent steps to prevent the prevailing economic challenges from degenerating further.
Below is the full tweet by Obaseki.
“Our advice is that we stop playing the Ostrich
“While we do not want to join issues with the Federal Ministry of Finance, we believe it is our duty to offer useful advice for the benefit of our country.
“The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed should rally Nigerians to stem the obvious fiscal slide facing our country.
“Rather than play the Ostrich, we urge the government to take urgent steps to end the current monetary rascality, so as to prevent the prevailing economic challenge from degenerating further.
“We believe it is imperative to approach the Nigerian project with all sense of responsibility and commitment and not play to the gallery because ultimately, time shall be the judge of us all.
“Godwin Obaseki Governor, Edo State April 15, 2021”.