Olusola Bello
The Federal Government on Wednesday vehemently denied and described as false claim the alarm raised by the Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) printed about N60 billion (Ways and Means) to augment the amount distributed to states in March 2021.
Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, while reacting to Obaseki’s comment when she at the State House when reporters asked her to comment on the issue, she simply denounced the statement by Godwin Obaseki
The minister stated that what was distributed at the monthly FAAC meetings were generated revenues from government institutions and that members of the public check for them at the ministry’s website added that the country’s debt is still within sustainable limits.
“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 revenue that is generated and in fact distribution revenue is 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”, she said.
On the nation’s rising debt profile which was also mentioned by the governor, saying Nigeria is in ‘huge financial trouble’ she defended the government’s borrowings, stating that the Nigerian debt is still within the sustainable limit. So, our debt currently at about 23 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is at a very sustainable level.”
Obaseki had disclosed at the meeting of Edo transition committee stakeholders that , when they got Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for March, the federal government printed additional N50-N60 billion to top-up for us to share.
“This April, we will go to Abuja and share. By the end of this year, our total borrowings are going to be within N15-N16 trillion.” The governors said.
