We Left Billions In The Treasury – Ex Minister Responds To Buhari’s Claim (See how much was Left)

Nigeria’s former Minister/Deputy Chairman National Planning
Commission (NPC) Dr. Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman, has
debunked the claim by President Buhari that former president
Goodluck Jonathan left for them an empty treasury.
Suleiman revealed that Jonathan had on May 29 left behind the sum
of US$2billion, and said that the sum would have been higher if not
for governors insistence on sharing the fund.
He criticized the general media for trying to pain Jonathan as a
criminal, plunderer and looter before Nigerians.
The ex ministers statement was in response to Buhari’s
statement, where he was quoted to have said that his government
met “virtually an empty treasury.”
Suleiman responded and called the accusation unfair, stressing that
the immediate past administration “left behind close to US
$30billion.”
He said, “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?
“Until they are able to prove they had no receipts from these
government agencies in the last one month before Nigerians can
now buy into Mr. President’s claims of an empty treasury.”
Money made by government is meant to be spent, and this the
immediate past administration did responsibly. Every government,
even in the so-called western world, including the US which today
remains one of the largest debtor nations in the world, government
operates on deficit.
“Is it not on record that President Obama inherited US$3 triillion
debt, a collapsed banking sector and mortgage industry,yet he
never raised any alarm. None of these has happened in Nigeria
under Jonathan.
“Under Jonathan,Nigeria became the largest Africa economy and
26th in the world amidst deadly security challenges and dwindling
international prices of oil. In spite of all these, the FG never owed
salary.
“Upon inception of Jonatha’s administration, it is on record that the
price of oil at the global stage was over 100 dollars per barrel and
at the close of the administration, it dropped to 46dollars. Yet, there
wasn’t collapse of government and federal civil servants were paid
as at when due.
“It will be misleading therefore for our respected President
Muhammadu Buhari and indeed the ruling APC to claim to have met
an empty treasury.”
Buhari had claimed that the national treasury was empty when he
had an interactive session with journalist earlier.