Tinubu’s govt stuck in the past – Obaseki

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State says the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu is stuck in the past.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, the governor said while Nigeria is “technically bankrupt”, the country has not reduced its expenditure.

The governor lamented that though Nigeria is not earning more, it is behaving as though it has money as it used to.

He said, “Nigeria is technically bankrupt. When you’re bankrupt anywhere in the world like in the states (USA), you file for what we call chapter 11.”

He maintained that Nigeria must restructure its affairs to be able to recognise and meet its obligations, insisting that the current “structure” has expired.

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“You restructure your affairs so that you can reorganise and be able to meet obligations. The problem of Nigeria today is structural. The structure has expired.”

“Nigeria is not restructuring its affairs. It’s still behaving as if it has money like it used to. It’s been in trouble for a while. I won’t say insolvent, I will say technically we don’t have enough to cover our expenditures and we are not reducing our expenditures and we are not earning more.”

“It’s total redesign. First the federal government does not have the capacity anymore to manage the economy on the way and scale it is doing today.

“We are producing 1.3 million barrels of oil because you are trying to do it centrally.

“We have 137 oil wells in Edo state, only 53 or less are producing except you create a new design where you have the component parts of this country take advantage of economic opportunities that they have and pay what they need to the federal government.

“This federal government is stuck in the past. You cannot resolve malignant problems using the same tools you have used through the years. It is not that the people there are not smart or stupid. It is just that they don’t have the courage to take some of the decisions that need to be taken.” he added.