Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has stated that Nigeria is “technically bankrupt” and urged the Federal Government to implement urgent restructuring for the country to progress.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Obaseki said the nation is unable to cover its expenditures due to insufficient earnings, while government spending remains high.
“Nigeria is technically bankrupt. And I mean it,” Obaseki said, comparing the situation to the U.S. Chapter Eleven bankruptcy process, where organisations restructure to meet their obligations.
He noted that Nigeria is not undertaking such restructuring, continuing to act as though it still had significant financial resources.
The governor also criticised the Federal Government’s centralised management of resources, arguing that individual states should be allowed to exploit their own economic opportunities. “
“It (Nigeria) has been in trouble for a while. I won’t say insolvent, but technically so, in the sense that we don’t have enough to cover our expenditure, we are not reducing our expenditure, and we are not earning more,” he said.
“First, the Federal Government does not have the capacity to manage the economy at the scale and in the way it is currently doing. You’re producing 1.3 million barrels of oil, right? Because you are trying to do it centrally. We have 147 oil wells in Edo, and only 53 or fewer are producing.
“Unless you create a new design that allows the individual states to take advantage of the economic opportunities they have, stressing the assets of this country and paying what they need to pay to the central government, the federal government cannot sit and try to micromanage the country and its assets. It has shown that it cannot. It doesn’t have the capacity to do so.”
Obaseki also expressed concern that the government is “stuck in the past” and lacks the courage to make difficult decisions necessary for restructuring.
He stressed that the current governance structure is outdated, noting that the current structure “is expired; it’s outdated” and Nigeria needs a new structure to run the economy of the state.
He added, “I think for me, it’s like this federal government is stuck, and stuck in the past. Because you cannot resolve a malignant problem using the same tools you have used over the years.
“It’s not that the people there are not smart; it’s not that they’re stupid. It’s more that they just don’t have the courage to make the decisions they need to make.
“The problem with Nigeria today is structural. The structure we have is expired; it’s outdated. We need a new structure to run the economy of the state. If it doesn’t happen, we are not going anywhere.”
