Femi Gbajabimila, majority leader of the house of representatives, has alleged that the level of corruption under former President Goodluck Jonathan is unprecedented in the history of the world.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in the Surulere area of Lagos, the lawmaker said the previous government did so much damage to the country.
He said though President Muhammadu Buhari had an idea of how bad things were, he never excepted to meet that “kind of rot”.
“Things are very difficult in Nigeria today; we must acknowledge that. The question we need to ask ourselves is why? And the answer is very simple. When this government came into power, we knew the situation was bad, we knew the previous government did so much damage to the economy, but, we did not know how bad,” NAN quoted him as saying.
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“It was when this government got there that they saw the books and they found that everything was empty. Apart from the falling oil revenue, we have read in the papers how people are being tried for looting the country`s treasury; how people were putting billions meant for terror war in their pockets.
“The kind of rot, the kind of corruption Buhari met is unprecedented anywhere in the world. Had the president not taken some of the measures he is taking now, the system would have collapsed completely.”
The lawmaker justified the recent hike in the price of petrol, saying it was the best for the country at this critical point in time.
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Gbajabiala explained that the country`s revenue was drying up as a result of the oil price crash, saying the situation compelled the government to make the painful decision in order to meet its commitments.
He appealed to Nigerians to show understanding on the issue, saying the increase would translate into benefits for the country in the long run.
The lawmaker urged Nigerians to give the Buhari administration the required support in its efforts to reposition the country.
He said that the administration had performed remarkably well in most areas since it took over government last year.
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Gbajabiamila cited the re-invigorated war on corruption, decimation of Boko Haram insurgents and improved perception of Nigeria abroad as some of the achievements recorded by the government in its one year in office.
5 comments
Hey Femi Gbajabimila, were you not part of the Government of Jonathan? We would like to know how much corrupt you are too. You should tell Nigerians how you were part of the senseless Nigerians who were all out to rip Nigeria apart by their selfish and greed. Me think the members of the house of rep. has a lot of explanations to do about corruptions, and you too need to tell Nigerians how much you have stolen personally and stop pointing accusing fingers at Jonathan and others.
Now that you have sincerely admitted that your government do not know the gravity of the job you presented yourselves to handle claiming to be the best suited candidates for it, and also realising now that the job is above your competence, would it not make better sense to quit the job, Since insisting on your capability is tantamount to Boys taking over jobs that were supposed to be handled by men.
I am not sure Gbajabimila meant that this government is overwhelmed by the extent of damage done by the previous administration. Was there anything competent about Jonathan’s administration other than brazen looting. Is there any competence in a president who publicly declared that stealing is not corruption. Let’s hold in our eagerness to criticize till about the third year of this administration. Only then will we have enough facts to call a spade a spade.
Sorry but you cannot stipulate the time to be criticised. Realising in the first place that criticism is a warning sign to seat up. If you don’t even know your short comings now, how would you correct it in 2-3 years?
Your comment.IF GBAJAMELA WHO COULDN’T BECOME THE SPEAKER OF NIGERIANS HOUSE OF REPRESEBTATIVE BECAUSE OF CORRUPTION CHARGES.
HMMMMM THAT MEANS GOD SHOULD INDEED HAVE MERCY ON US NIGERIANS BECAUSE OUR NORTHERN AND WESTERN BROTHERS DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THE PUT THE WHOLE OF THE COUNTRY INTO “ASSOCIATION OF PAST CRIMINAL” SHOULD TELL NIGERIANS THE TRUTH AND STOP MILKING US DRY WE ARE TIED.