Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum on Monday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, condemned the country’s rising debt profile.
Rising from their meeting in Uyo, the PDP governors lamented that over 80 per cent of the budget was being spent on debt servicing.
They also accused the Central Bank of Nigeria of operating as an independent government within a government.
The opposition PDP governors in a communique read by their Chairman and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, accused the Buhari government of destroying all the gains of the PDP-led administration under which the country exited its debts obligations.
The governors’ communiqué partly read, “The PDP frowns at the rising and seemingly uncontrollable debt profile of Nigeria with over 80 per cent of normal Appropriation spent on debt servicing.
“All the gains of the PDP government under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, where Nigeria exited its foreign debt obligations have been destroyed. Borrowing for the NTA (Nigeria Television Authority) is scandalous. Money should only be borrowed for productive purposes as Nigeria current debt of over N36tn is becoming clearly unsustainable relatives to our earnings and GDP.
“We should not saddle the incoming generation with undue debt burden. The borrowing spree of the APC administration, if unchecked, will certainly lead Nigeria to avoidable bankruptcy
“A situation where the CBN creates money, decides how much of it will spend, on what to spend it without any form of control or supervision, is patently subversive of our constitutional order.”
They further said, “This meeting observed that the CBN has become such an octopus that it threatens state governments publicly without decorum about sanctions or any attempt to question it modus operandi. The CBN should take immediate steps to halt the depreciation of the naira.”
The governors reiterated their call for the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission to send the revised allocation formula to President Buhari for onward transmission to the National Assembly for enactment to enable more revenue come to the states and local government areas “where more Nigerians reside.”
They also frowned on the “opaque manner’ the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation performed its functions, adding that its decision not to make its statutory contributions to the Federation Account has starved states, LGs and Nigerian of funds needed for development.
The governors also called on other agencies of government such as the Nigeria Port Authority, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Nigeria Communication Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Customs and Excise and similar Organisations that are statutorily required to make contributions to the federation account to do more.
The Forum also condemned the recent ban on Twitter, noting that social media regulations could only be done within the existing laws and should not be an attempt to gag Nigerians from enjoying constitutionally guaranteed rights
Also in attendance at the meeting which held at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Uyo, were governors Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia State), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Seyi Makinde (Oyo).
Governors Ahmadu Fintri (Adamawa State), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) and Darius Ishaku (Taraba), while Zamfara State was represented by the deputy governor, Mahdi Mohammed were also present.