Buhari Govt Sold Our Future Crude, Tinubu Paying Debts – Mutfwang

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has accused the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari of selling crude oil before it was extracted, saying the government led by President Bola Tinubu is still repaying the resulting debts.

Governor Mutfwang made the remarks on Monday at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections at Government House in Rayfield, Jos.

Mutfwang blamed the previous administration for the economic challenges inherited by Tinubu in 2023, saying the current government needed time for its reforms to take effect.

“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.

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“The crude we are yet to dig from the ground has 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 called the previous administration’s fuel subsidy regime a national fraud, alleging that the government 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 said.

He said the removal of the subsidy had improved fuel availability, though 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.

Mutfwang also defended the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, saying Nigeria’s external reserves had climbed above $50 billion.

“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.