According to Obasanjo, who disclosed this on Monday in Abeokuta, his
administration left over $25 billion to his successor, Musa Yar’adua,
who raised the sum to $35 billion.
He added that he left $40billion in Nigeria’s foreign reserve account
after paying the outstanding debt at the time and the late Yar’adua
also raised the reserves to $60billion, Premium Times reports.
He explained that under Jonathan’s administration, the reserves had dropped to $40billion.
Obasanjo said: “Our economy should not have been this bad. When I
was leaving office about eight years ago, I left a very huge reserve
after we had paid all our debts. Almost $25billion we kept in what they
called excess crude. The excess from the budget we were saving as
reserve for the rainy days. When we left in May 2007, the reserve was
said to have been raised to $35billion.
“But today, that reserve has been depleted! Today, that reserve
has been depleted. The reserve we left when we finished paying all our
debts, our debts that was about 40billion dollars, that is including
debt forgiveness, the remaining debt was not more than $3billion. Our
reserve after we had paid off this debt was about $45billion. As I said,
they continued till the end of 2007, I heard that the reserve increased
to almost $67billion before the end of the year. Our reserve now,
learnt is left with around only $30billion.
“That is why the Naira has been falling against the dollar. What
would now happen, I learnt if you want to buy a dollar now, it’s about
N192 or N195. What it means is this, what you have been buying at N150
to a dollar, now you need N192 or N195 to buy it. That is the real
situation. Is there any remedy? There is, but it does not come overnight
because it means we have to give up all the bad things we have been
doing.”
The former president said he had no grudge against Jonathan but was
more concerned about the interest of the country, and therefore cared
less about criticisms.
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