Former Military Head of state, General Yakubu Gowon (Retd), has reacted to the controversy generated by the alleged padding of the 2016 budget.
Gowon recalled that during his days as the President of the country, such issue never occurred.
He made this disclosure while speaking in Ile-Ife during a programme, Health Caravan and award ceremony for the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the event, Gowon urged Nigerians to bear with the current government, adding that the Federal Government was doing everything within its reach to resolve the economic challenges facing the nation.
On solution to Nigeria’s economic challenges, Gowon said, “Let the current authority find a way out of the current economic crisis. The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has been telling us what they have been doing to get the economy strong again. She said all will be well by September. Let’s wait till then.
“I have left government for a long time, so I may not really know what the problem is. The current administration should do whatever they can to solve to economic challenges. They should find a way to restore confidence in the citizens and the nation at large by fixing the economy.”
Adding his voice to the budget padding, the former military boss said his government never witnessed such mess.
His words, “If that is true, if anybody is doing that, the person should be checked and stopped to ensure that such does not occur in the future”.
“We didn’t it do it during my time. We had Chief Obafemi Awolowo in-charge of our finance during my time and he taught us to survive without borrowing. Such (budget padding) should stop, there is no point doing that”, he added.
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