The Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, says the attempt by President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to borrow $29.9bn to finance the 2016 budget will plunge the country into depression, urging the Senate to reject the proposal.
In a statement, Fayose, who said that the Senate President Bukola Saraki’s body language appears to be in support of Buhari’s request, added that “any attempt to subvert the wishes of Nigerians, who had rejected the proposition, would amount to a betrayal of trust.”
The governor also said the ruling All Progressives Congress would implode before the 2019 general elections.
Fayose spoke in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, on Thursday while delivering a lecture titled: “Journalism: Antidote to Economic Recession,” as part of activities marking the 2016 Press Week of the Ekiti Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.
The governor, who criticised Buhari for blaming the past governments for the economic woes of the country, said borrowing $29.9bn would push the economy from the current recession further into depression.
He also said his recent support for a former Lagos State Governor, Ahmed Tinubu, should not be misinterpreted to mean that he was planning to defect to the APC.
He said, “How can I join a party that is making Nigerians hungry and angry? God forbid. I have seen the body language of Senator Saraki that he is planning to hit the gavel in support of external borrowing. I want to warn that the National Assembly must not kill Nigerians perpetually.
“We are 80 per cent close to depression. We must pray that Nigeria should not go into depression finally next year.”
He also appealed to journalists to be “courageous, fearless and be above board in tackling social ills by reporting how the people are faring under the present economy so that the entire world can see a clear picture of the country’s economic situation.”
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