BREAKING: I stand by my claim on printing of N60bn, Obaseki replies FG

Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki has said he won’t join issues with the Federal Government over his claim that N60 billion was printed in March to support allocation to states.

Obaseki had lamented the fiscal state of the nation, stating Nigeria is in financial trouble.

While speaking at the Edo state transition committee stakeholders engagement over the weekend, he claimed the Federal Government printed money to bridge FAAC allocation.

“When we got FAAC for March, the federal government printed additional N50-N60 billion to top-up for us to share,” he had said.

But The Nation reported on Wednesday the Federal Government faulted his claim, dismissing it as untrue.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said Obaseki’s claim was very sad because it was “untrue”.

Reacting to the counter-reaction on Thursday, Obaseki, through his official twitter handle, said: “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.”