Goodluck Jonathan Attacks Osinbajo, Says VP Has ‘Leprous’ Fingers

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan has reacted to claims by
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo that he left Nigeria with debt
and ruined the economy due to the alleged corruption under his
watch, according to dailypost.ng.

The Vice President had during a lecture entitled, “Restructuring
and the Nigerian federation,” delivered as part of activities
marking the 40th anniversary of Association of Friends in Lagos
yesterday, accused the immediate past government of President
Goodluck Jonathan, of throwing Nigeria into untold hardship,
recession and debt.

But reacting in a statement made available to DAILY POST by Reno
Omokri (for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan), the former President wondered
why Osinbajo, who, according to him, was recently indicted by the
House of Representatives for an alleged worse corruption in
Nigeria, should point accusing fingers at him(Jonathan).

The statement continues, “My attention has been drawn to
regurgitated and discredited allegations by Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo blaming former President Jonathan of saddling Nigeria with
debt and ruining the economy by the alleged corruption of his
administration.

“How can Vice President Osinbajo, a man who had just been
indicted by the House of Representatives in one of the biggest
corruption scams ever in Nigeria’s history, have the gall to point
accusing fingers on Dr. Jonathan, a man that is celebrated
internationally for his efforts at achieving Nigeria’s best rating
in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Rating
when Nigeria improved 8 paces from 144 to 136 in 2014?

“Having read through the sordid details of Professor Osinbajo’s
corruption as revealed in the indictment by Nigeria’s House of
Representatives, it is easy to understand why Nigeria made her
worst ever retrogression in Transparency International’s annual
Corruption Perception under him this year, moving 11 paces
backwards from 136 to 148.

“On the issue of debt, the fact remains that in the entire 16
years that the Peoples Democratic Party governed Nigeria, the total
amount of money borrowed was ₦8.06 trillion Naira. These are facts
sourced directly from the budget office controlled by the Buhari
administration.

“However, in only 3 years, the All Progressives Congress-led
administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has borrowed a total
of ₦10 trillion Naira. With this fact in hand, where does Vice
President Osinbajo have the moral authority to point leprous
fingers at former President Jonathan?

“The claim by Vice President Osinbajo that former President
Jonathan left $$63 billion in debt is also a false claim. The
Jonathan administration inherited $42.23 billion in debt in 2011
which were debts borrowed by the states and the Federal
Government.

“Throughout the five years that he was President, former
President Jonathan incurred the wrath of several state governments
because his administration refused to guarantee their foreign
loans.

“The reason that Nigeria’s debt has ballooned under this
administration is because the Federal Government lacks the
discipline that Jonathan had and are thus unable to curb borrowing
by both the Federal Government and the states.

“For example, on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, the Debt Management
Office revealed that in just 2017 alone, the Buhari administration
borrowed ₦2.4 trillion to fund their budget deficit. This is
besides other loans that they took in 2017 alone. That money is
more than the funds borrowed by the Jonathan administration in 5
years!

“To show to Nigerians the profligacy and ineptitude of the
current administration, I draw their attention to the fact that
between July and August 2018, the Buhari administration claimed it
had shared $322 million Abacha funds recovered by the Jonathan
administration to the poor. Then a week after it made that
announcement, the Buhari government borrowed $328 million from
China.

“The question is this, why would you share out $322 million one
week only to borrow the same amount next week? Why not use the
Abacha funds to fund government activities instead of adding to the
already strained debt burden?

“These are questions that Vice President Osinbajo should answer
rather than making false allegations against former President
Jonathan.”