Eze Ndi Obodo

MR PRESIDENT, OBI IS COMING TO STOP THE EROSION OF NIGERIA’S COMMONWEALTH — NDC The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has taken careful note of President Bola Tinubu’s swipe at Mr. Peter Obi over the erosion menace in Anambra State. But we want to remind the President that the mission of the Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Mr. Peter Obi and his running mate Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is much bigger: to stop the rapid erosion of Nigeria’s commonwealth. Obi-Kwankwaso mission is to address the growing contradiction between the gains expected from fuel subsidy removal, Mr. President’s seemingly one week, new loan and the persistent underfunding of national budgets. Nigerians deserve to know what has happened to the promised fiscal benefits of subsidy removal, particularly against the backdrop of the administration’s frequent borrowing, increased revenue generation, poor debt-service-revenue-ratio and inadequate funding of critical public services like health and education. Obi/Kwankwaso will not allow Nigeria to continue borrowing at an alarming rate, without corresponding benefits, while citizens endure worsening poverty, unemployment, insecurity and declining purchasing power. Let’s look at the financial records of the two former governors - Mr. Obi left the equivalent of $500 million in investment as well as local and foreign currency, including $156 million in dollar-denominated bonds when he left office in 2014 in Anambra State. In contrast, available Debt Management Office figures put Lagos State’s external debt at approximately $190.43 million at the end of 2007, when Mr. Tinubu handed over to his successor. Apart from that, Mr. Tinubu aided the erosion of Lagos public finance by signing into law the pension law, granting former governors and deputies, including himself life time pensions, equivalent to 100% of the basic salary of the incumbent governor, houses in Lagos and Abuja, multiple vehicles, furniture allowance, utility allowance, entertainment allow, free medical care, house maintenance allowance, domestic staff provision, and other ridiculous benefits. The package was so outrageous that a successive governor was compelled to slightly review the law. In contrast, Mr. Obi never set up pension for governors in Anambra State The Obi/Kwankwaso ticket offers Nigeria the golden opportunity to make fundamental departure from President Tinubu’s borrowing-dependent and erosion of public funds model of governance towards Obi/Kwankwaso prudent management of public resources, accountability, productive investment and measurable improvements in citizens’ welfare. The debt-dependent economic model without accountability contributed to the decline and weakening of powerful empires and nations throughout history. From the Ottoman Empire and 19th-century Egypt to modern-day countries such as Argentina and Zambia, history offers repeated warnings about the dangers of excessive borrowing, unsustainable debt and poor fiscal management. If not stopped, Nigeria is in serious trouble. And of course Peter Obi bravely tackled gully erosion in Anambra State. Obi helped attract and launch the World Bank Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) to the state. He mandated new state roads to include proper drainage connected to safe discharge points and executed local flood controls, such as concrete drains in Adazi Nnukwu, Amawbia, Umuoji, etc. He regularly lobbied the federal government for ecological intervention funds with accountability. The bottom line is that Obi-Kwankwaso mission is about stopping fiscal recklessness and the erosion/decimation of Nigeria’s commonwealth, while providing economic opportunities for Nigerians today and for future generations. Signed Dr. Chiogo Constance Ikokwu Spokesperson, NDC National Presidential Campaign Council