The Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo has voiced his concerns about the economic challenges inherited by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, describing the situation as a “dead economy.”
Soludo, a renowned economist himself, attributed the worsening economic indicators to past violations of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) establishment law, which strictly prohibits deficit financing above five percent of the previous year’s revenues.
Soludo made the remark during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Thursday.
The Governor accused the CBN under previous management of recklessly granting trillions in unbacked financing despite clear legal restrictions, a practice he claims has significantly contributed to the economic challenges currently faced by the nation.
He emphasized, “We explicitly put into the law that you can’t grant the Federal Government more than five per cent of the previous year’s actual revenue. And that so granted must be retired by the end of the year in which it was granted. And when the Federal Government fails to retire, the Central Bank is forbidden by that law from further advancing ways and means. That was the law in the 2007 Act of the Central Bank.”
Governor Soludo continued by highlighting the imprudent printing of money without adequate backing, stating that substantial sums, such as N4 trillion, N10 trillion, and even N15 trillion, were credited to the Federal Government without proper collateral.
“I said it before. This particular government inherited a dead economy from a microeconomic point of view, this government inherited a dead horse that was seen standing but people didn’t know that it was dead. I think it’s important for Nigerians to understand this,” Soludo emphasized.
The Governor’s remarks come in the wake of President Tinubu’s own acknowledgment of the substantial fiscal and infrastructure deficits his administration inherited. Earlier this month, during negotiations for an infrastructure loan in Saudi Arabia, President Tinubu openly acknowledged the challenges his government has faced upon assuming office.
As Nigerians grapple with the economic realities of the day, Governor Soludo’s insights offer a critical perspective on the complexities of the nation’s financial landscape, raising important questions about the path forward for Nigeria’s economic recovery under President Tinubu’s leadership.
