The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has responded to President Bola Tinubu’s recent comment on Mr. Peter Obi over the erosion menace in Anambra State, saying the mission of its presidential candidate is much bigger.
In a statement signed by Dr. Chiogo Constance Ikokwu, Spokesperson of the NDC National Presidential Campaign Council, the party said the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket is on a mission to stop what it described as the rapid erosion of Nigeria’s commonwealth.
According to the party, Nigerians deserve to know what happened to the promised gains from fuel subsidy removal, especially against the backdrop of frequent borrowing, increased revenue generation, a poor debt-service-to-revenue ratio, and inadequate funding of critical sectors like health and education.
“The Obi-Kwankwaso ticket 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,” the statement said.
The NDC also compared the financial records of the two former governors.
It said Mr. Obi left the equivalent of $500 million in investments as well as local and foreign currency, including $156 million in dollar-denominated bonds, when he left office as Governor of Anambra State in 2014.
In contrast, it said, 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.
The party further accused Mr. Tinubu of aiding the erosion of Lagos public finance by signing into law a pension law granting former governors and deputies, including himself, lifetime pensions equivalent to 100% of the basic salary of the incumbent governor, houses in Lagos and Abuja, multiple vehicles, furniture allowance, utility allowance, entertainment allowance, free medical care, house maintenance allowance, domestic staff and other benefits.
It noted that the package was later reviewed by a successive governor, while Mr. Obi, according to the party, never set up a pension scheme for governors in Anambra State.
The NDC said the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket offers Nigeria an opportunity to depart from what it called a borrowing-dependent model of governance, towards prudent management of public resources, accountability, productive investment and measurable improvement in citizens’ welfare.
It warned that history, from the Ottoman Empire and 19th-century Egypt to modern-day Argentina and Zambia, offers repeated lessons on the dangers of excessive borrowing, unsustainable debt and poor fiscal management.
On erosion in Anambra, the party said Mr. Obi tackled gully erosion head-on, helped attract and launch the World Bank Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) to the state, 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 and other communities. It added that he regularly lobbied the Federal Government for ecological intervention funds with accountability.
“The bottom line is that the Obi-Kwankwaso mission is about stopping fiscal recklessness and the erosion of Nigeria’s commonwealth, while providing economic opportunities for Nigerians today and for future generations,” the statement concluded.
