Former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, has expressed pity for the country’s next president over the depleted state of the economy.
According to the deposed Emir of Kano, President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor will have a handful of challenges to surmount.
Sanusi, who is the current Khalifah, Tijaniyat Movement of Nigeria, said this while speaking at the “Building a resilient economy” seminar by the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency.
Sanusi lamented that the country’s economy has been tied to the oil and gas sector for too long, adding that the imminent subsidy removal will mitigate the economy’s growth.
Sanusi said;
“Nigeria has continued to be a rentier state. It does not exist for development but as a sight of rent, and extraction to make those who control the state rich turning them into billionaires overnight.
“In 2023, if we have an election, we cannot continue to have the trend. Because any continuation will lead to insecurity and might get us to Mali, Burkina Faso’s situation.
“We can’t keep towards pushing the brink; we have to come back.”
The former CBN governor, who cited data from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, said only 50% of the 36 states are able to generate enough revenue to cover their wages, overheads and debt services.
The deposed Emir explained that the cost of servicing debt the Federal Government spent N2.597 trillion to service debts, whereas revenue was N2.4 trillion.
“In other words, debt service is now 108 per cent of revenue. Every naira the Federal Government earns goes to service debt and it is not enough, (as the FG) has to borrow to service the debt. And then begin to borrow to build roads, pay salaries and overheads.
“We are leaving a mountain of debt for our children. They (children) might curse us because we are taking all the money borrowed to subsidise petrol and enjoy it cheaply.
“We see the problem and we are going to continue. I’m sorry for the next president who comes in June and says I’m removing fuel subsidy after day one.”
