By Akinwale Kasali
Late President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused of mortgaging the future of the country before his demise. Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State accused the late President’s administration of selling crude oil before it was extracted.
Governor Mutfwang further alleged that Buhari’s action plunged Nigeria to its pathetic economic situation.
He added that the President Bola Tinubu-led government is still paying the resultant debts.
The Plateau State Governor made said this at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections at Government House, Rayfield, Jos.
He faulted the previous administration for the economic challenges inherited by Tinubu in 2023, arguing that the current government needed time for its reforms to yield results.
“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 had been sold in advance. And today we are paying that debt. And so we cannot expect things to simply change overnight,” he said.
The governor also described the fuel subsidy regime under the previous administration as a national fraud, arguing that the government had borrowed money to pay fraudulent claims.
“When the President took over at that time, there was a national fraud that was taking place called fuel subsidy. 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 money 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,” Mutfwang stated.
Speaking further, Mutfwang added that the removal of the subsidy had helped improve fuel availability, although prices remained high.
“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 of my age bracket or 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,” he said.
Exonerating the President Tinubu administration’s on his economic policies,Mutfwang claimed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen above $50bn.
“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.
He went ahead to further highlight the measures introduced by the APC led Tinubu administration in cushioning the impact of economic hardship, including Tin City Metro buses, the revival of rail services within Jos, a 50 per cent reduction in tuition fees at state-owned tertiary institutions and a 300 per cent increase in student allowances.
He also cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, as a Federal Government intervention benefiting Plateau indigenes studying in tertiary institutions.
On the 2027 elections, Mutfwang urged Nigerians to support Tinubu’s re-election, arguing that power should rotate between the North and South.
“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.
He expressed confidence that the APC would win in Plateau State, urging party members to focus on grassroots mobilisation and peaceful, issue-based campaigns.
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