Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has said President Bola Tinubu inherited an economy “tottering on the brink of collapse” from former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
Mutfwang made the remarks on Monday during the formal inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council in Jos, where he defended the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms and urged Plateau residents to support the President in the 2027 general election.
“Where did President Tinubu meet Nigeria in 2023? He met Nigeria, tottering on the brink of collapse, Nigeria that could not service its external debts, Nigeria that would not even allow businesses outside the country to take their proceeds back home.
“And that is why some international airlines stopped flying to Nigeria, because they could not get the dollars to take back their money.
“Our external reserve was down to just a little over $3 billion, from the over $40 billion it had accumulated for decades.
“Today, by the grace of God, we have a healthy external reserve of over $50 billion,” he said.
The governor further accused the Buhari administration of resorting to excessive money creation to manage the economy, claiming that more than N30 trillion was printed through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“When the President took over in 2023, the government that he succeeded had run out of ideas on how to manage the economy, and they resorted to printing money in the Central Bank.
“They printed over N30 trillion, which went down the drain.
“Today, by the grace of God, the Central Bank has stabilised, and that deficit has been done away with,” Mutfwang said.
On fuel subsidy, Mutfwang described the system under the previous administration as fraudulent, alleging that the country borrowed money to pay claims backed by what he called fictitious documents.
“I say it was a fraud because we were borrowing money to pay people who brought fictitious documents. They never brought any wealth. They brought fictitious documents, claimed monies and subsidies.
“You cannot continue to borrow money to give to thieves. You have to stop it at some point. And when it is stopped, there will be a payback; there will be a recovery time,” he said.
The governor said fuel availability had improved despite rising prices, recalling the long queues that previously characterised petrol stations across the country.
“Today, by the grace of God, we have solved one side of the equation. Today fuel is available. It may not be cheap, but it is available.
“Those of us who are in my age bracket or a little below will remember the times when we spent days in petrol stations queuing for fuel that we could hardly get. But we have been able to resolve that,” Mutfwang said.
He also accused the previous administration of selling crude oil in advance, claiming that the country was still servicing obligations arising from such arrangements.
“Part of the problem of the Buhari regime is that they got to a point that they didn’t know what to do, so they sold our future crude. The crude we are yet to dig from the ground has been sold in advance.
“And today we are paying that debt. We are paying that debt. And so we cannot expect things to simply change overnight,” he said.
Mutfwang said his administration had introduced measures to cushion the effects of the economic adjustment on Plateau residents, including the introduction of metro buses and the revival of the railway system within Jos metropolis.
“I’m glad that Plateau people have commended us for the metro buses that we bought early in the regime. I’m glad we’re able to revive the railway system within the metropolis.
“I’m glad that we’re able to reduce school fees for our students in tertiary institutions by 50 per cent. I’m glad that we’re able to raise their allowances by about 300 per cent,” he said.
The governor also commended the Federal Government’s student financing initiative, saying Plateau indigenes studying in various universities had benefited from the scheme.
“It is also a great joy in my heart that the President also came up with a new scholarship for students called NELFUND.
“Today, hundreds of millions have been given to Plateau indigenes who are studying in different universities. Some are getting N20,000 monthly, N40,000 monthly. It has never happened before,” he said.
On the 2027 elections, Mutfwang called for power rotation between the North and South, arguing that existing political arrangements should be respected.
“We must agree that power should rotate between the North and the South. And if the North spends 8 years, which we have nothing to show for, it is only fair that we allow the South to do another 8 years.
“Because if we don’t respect that sharing arrangement, it will come back to haunt us someday,” he said.
The governor also declared that he would seek another term in office, insisting that there was no vacancy in the Plateau State Government House ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
“And that is why in Plateau State, we have already agreed that it is two terms per senatorial zone. Except the northern zone does not want to produce a governor until 2035, then you can toy with my mandate,” he said.
Mutfwang urged APC candidates and members of the campaign council to communicate the administration’s achievements to voters and avoid actions capable of deepening political divisions.
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