Recently Rotimi Amaechi the transportation minister said in an interview at Channels Television that Goodluck Jonathan left the treasury almost bankrupt when they came into power and that the money the Buhari administration met in the coffers of the Federal account was not enough to run the country for three weeks. Almost immediately individuals who served in the Goodluck administration corrected the premeditated amnesia of Amaechi with concrete evidence of the falsehood members of the Buhari administration including his anti-corruption agencies normally peddle. A former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, replied Amaechi. He said “I am confused about what the Honourable Minister means when he says ‘by the time we came in’ as he was not appointed minister until six months after the May 29 handover. Since he was not a minister on the handover date, it may be pertinent to present him with the facts again… On May 29, 2015, President Buhari inherited a foreign reserve of $28.6 billion, according to official data still present on the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as well as $5.6 billion Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Limited dividends. Also, a 2015 budget of over 4 trillion Naira was handed over to the incoming administration by the outgoing Jonathan government… Furthermore, the Jonathan administration left a total of $2.2 billion in the Excess Crude Account on May 29, 2015.” Mr Chidoka explained.

What we should all realize is that there is no smoke without fire. The smoke in this case is the false allegation that the Goodluck administration left the nation bankrupt. The fire is that Rotimi Amaechi and his collaborators are setting up the stage for a mega loan. For Buhari supporters who cannot see beyond their stomach, Amaechi is perhaps the only minister in the Buhari administration that is praiseworthy. And that he deserves to be supported. What they pretend not to know is the sharing formula of the loans that the Buhari administration has been collecting. It is only individuals suffering from an acute state of imbecility, who would not know that a huge part of these loans would end up in personal accounts. Elections are around the corner and Buhari’s boys are preparing to get the fund to either run their re-election or live a luxurious life if their candidate or party does not win.

The loans (presently known and unknown) that the Buhari administration has already collected from China and other lenders are probably larger than what made China to cease the Sri Lankan Hambantota seaport. The Entebbe International Airport in Ugandan that is allegedly in China’s control is another case of China using easy loans that enrich corrupt government official to gain strategic national assets in developing and gullible nations. The effects of these loans would affect Nigerians for decades even if we get a good government after Buhari. It is in this regard that we must fight peacefully with nationwide protest against any new loan that the National Assembly will definitely fast track because of the cuts that usually goes into the accounts of the principal officers. Nigerian youths are the ones who would bear the brunt of these loans now and in the future, hence, we should use peaceful nationwide protest to stop Rotimi Amaechi and other members of the Buhari administration who are looking for ways to fund their next election and impoverish Nigerians more than the impoverishment that is already endemic.

Ata Ukuta, Editor – Towncryyers