He said because of the fall in the price of crude oil which is the livewire of the economy, 27 states in the country could not pay salaries.
President Buhari spoke yesterday at the presidential parley with the senior executive course no 38 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru at the State House.
He said “For 16 years, consecutive governments of the other party were in power and you know that there was unprecedented revenue realised, the oil projection which can be verified was 2.1 million barrels per day. From 1999-2015, the average cost of each Nigerian barrel of oil was $100 per barrel.
“When we came, it fell to less than $30 per barrel and it’s now between $40 and $50. Actually, I felt like absconding because 27 out of 36 states in Nigeria couldn’t pay salaries and we know they have no other source than to depend on salaries.
“ And I asked, any savings? I was told there was no savings, And I asked, what have you done on agriculture, power, rails, roads.Nothing. You know more than I do because you move around. I have not been moving around since after elections but you do, how many of the Trunk A roads are still good enough?
“How much power do we have although there are some elements of sabotage. I was told the money was used to import food and fuel. I didn’t believe the answer and I still don’t believe it.
“Until now, substantial number of people in the East eat garri and groundnut, in the West, pounded yam, cassava, and vegetables, in the North, tuwo which is made from any of the grains, millet, sorghum. They eat it in the night and warm it in the morning and eat it and take fura de nunu in the afternoon. How many of those people can afford foreign food?
He disclosed that the legislature dedicated 445,000 barrels per day and that is just 60 per cent of the nation’s requirements, saying “ I said okay what of the 40%? The marketers that are bringing it just present documents, papers are just stamped and monies are taken away.
“This is the type of thing that the Nigerian elites are doing for our own country. When you go back, look at your colleagues and encourage them to be truly Nigerians.”
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