Give details of liabilities inherited from Buhari, Obi tells Tinubu

Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25, 2023 presidential election, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to give details of the liabilities he inherited from the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Obi threw the challenge in reaction to President Tinubu’s statement when he met with the Vice-President (Country Programs) of the Islamic Development Bank, Mansur Muhtar, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, last week.

Tinubu had told Muhtar that his administration “inherited serious liabilities” when it took over power on May 29.

However, Obi, in his reaction in a statement, said whatever the administration inherited should be made known to the general public, saying a responsible government should be transparent and accountable.

The statement reads: “I just read yesterday a widely publicized story from the present APC-led Federal Government saying that they inherited a bankrupt nation from their predecessor APC administration. However, the report failed to disclose what they inherited, which had qualified us for bankruptcy status.

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“One major characteristic of responsible governance is transparency and strict accountability.

“This demands that the government disclose exactly the degree of deficit they inherited. What is inherited should be disclosed to let the public know where we are and where we are headed”.

According to Obi, the immediate past administration of Buhari made a similar claim in 2015 when it took over power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He lamented that despite the claims, the Buhari administration failed to improve on what it inherited, stressing that it left the country with a heavier debt burden.

“Instead, they took our debt profile from N12.6 Trillion in 2015 to N87 trillion in 2023 when they left office without improving on any indices of development: Education, Health, Poverty eradication, and Security.

“The nation’s condition on every development index got worse, leading to the present sad state. Nigerians know things are bad, and they experience it daily. What they now want to hear regularly are measurable and verifiable steps to improve the situation”, Obi added.