Former Chairman Suleiman says he believed the Jonathan administration handled the treasury responsibly during his time. Adesina insisted that even though there was some money in the treasury, the President said there was not enough left behind to effectively run the government.
Femi Adesina responded to SaharaReporters about recent claims by the former Chairman of the National Planning Committee (NPC), Abubakar Suleiman, that President Buhari was lying about encountering an empty treasury when he came into office.
Suleiman in a statement in Abuja described Buhari’s public remarks about the status of the debt and national deficit as “unscientific and unfair,” warning that former President Jonathan must not be made to look like a criminal before the Nigerian public.
He also said that the Jonathan administration left behind about 30 billion dollars, which would have been higher had the Governors not insisted on sharing funds.
In response, President Buhari’s media spokesman, Femi Adesina stressed the fact that Mr. Buhari emphasized that there were “virtually” no funds left in the treasury when he began his term at the end of May.
Former Chairman Suleiman says he believed the Jonathan administration handled the treasury responsibly during his time. Adesina insisted that even though there was some money in the treasury, the President said there was not enough left behind to effectively run the government.
“If the Jonathan administration handled treasury responsibly, why are States unable to pay government workers?” Adesina said during a phone conversation.
He recalled that under Jonathan’s administration that Nigeria was rated the largest economy in Africa and 26th largest in the world, leaving question about why the government would leave with a near empty treasury.
Suleiman said during his remarks that “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?”’
Suleiman further reminded the new government that “aspiration to governance is a call to meeting and confronting challenges headlong. So, we urge the APC-led government to hit the ground running as promised Nigerians by confronting the challenges.”