Buhari regime serviced debt with 96 per cent of revenue; left multi-trillion naira debt for Tinubu: Bayo Onanuga
Bayo Onanuga, one of the aides to President Bola Tinubu, has lamented that the federal government under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari plunged Nigeria into N77 trillion debt and has been using 96 per cent of revenue for debt servicing.
Mr Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement shared on his social pages Friday, explaining and justifying the sudden fuel subsidy removal led to the announcement of a nationwide protest planned for Wednesday by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
“The Federal Government which already commits 96 per cent of its revenue in servicing debt is not in any position to continue selling subsidised fuel, most of which is smuggled across our borders for criminal and obscenely unpatriotic profit.
“Subsidy of fuel is no longer unsustainable as the FG is virtually broke. Apart from its N77 trillion debt, it also owes the NNPC Limited about N2.4 trillion for past subsidies,” Mr Onanuga wrote.
Mr Onanuga’s lamentation comes a few days after Mr Tinubu said he should not be pitied for he is aware of the issues confronting the country before vying to be President.
Mr Tinubu, in his inaugural speech on May 29, said “subsidy is gone”. His pronouncement triggered panic across the country as citizens rushed to buy fuel while oil marketers suddenly increased pump price.
On May 31, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced pump price increment that saw petrol price skyrocket from N195 to over N500 nationwide.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
States
14 kidnap victims rescued in Katsina
Troops rescued six males and eight females abducted in Katsina State.
States
Police arrest suspected transformer vandal in Enugu
Police said the suspect was found unconscious with various degrees of injuries.
World
U.S. govt indicts 17 Iranians over cyber theft
Prosecutors said the suspects allegedly stole more than 31 terabytes of data from institutions across the U.S.
States
Gov Alia nominates six new commissioners, seeks Benue assembly’s approval
The governor said the nominations were intended to strengthen the state executive council by filling existing vacancies and replacing outgoing members.
Heading 1
Nigeria should remain designated ‘country of particular concern’, Tinubu allowing slaughtering of Christians: U.S. Lawmaker
“Do not remove the CPC designation for Nigeria. They have not done near enough to protect Christians! They continue to get slaughtered,” Mr Moore said.
NationWide
Tinubu pledges peaceful campaign ahead of 2027 elections
“Let us remember that elections are not a do-or-die affair. We are partners in the project of nation-building,” he said.
