The Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has said that he stands by his earlier claim that N60 billion was printed in March 2021, by the President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government, to support the allocation to the 3 tiers of government .
Recall, that while speaking at the Edo State Transition Committee Stakeholders engagement, over the weekend, Governor Obaseki claimed that the Federal Government printed N60 billion, to bridge the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC.
He said: “When we got FAAC for March, the Federal Government printed additional N50-N60 billion, to top-up for us to share.”
However, on Wednesday the Federal Government faulted Governor Obaseki’s claim, dismissing it as untrue.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said that the Edo State Governor’s claim was very sad, because it is “untrue”.
Reacting to the Federal Government on Thursday, nonetheless, Governor Obaseki, through his official Twitter handle, wrote: “We believe it is our duty to offer useful advice for the benefit of our country
“The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, @ZShamsuna, should rally Nigerians to stem the obvious fiscal slide facing our country.
“Rather than play the Ostrich, we urge the government to take urgent steps to end the current monetary rascality so as to prevent the prevailing economic challenge from degenerating further.
“We believe it is imperative to approach the Nigerian project with all sense of responsibility and commitment and not play to the gallery because ultimately time shall be the judge of us all.”