Babatunde Fashola went for Goodluck Jonathan and the administration he led, at a recent town hall. Here are the highlights.
Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, tore into former President Goodluck Jonathan (without actually calling him by name) at a town hall meeting which held at the Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, opposite University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday, October 25, 2018.
Jonathan of the PDP quickly conceded defeat to Muhammadu Buhari of the APC long before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) formally announced the winner of the 2015 presidential election.
The former president has been hailed as heroic for that singular act.
Fashola had the following to say about Jonathan at the townhall:
1. Fashola says Jonathan ran Nigeria aground
The minister says when the Buhari administration assumed the reins in 2015, all it inherited were tons of debts.
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His words were: “What was left behind were massive debts owed to contractors who had not been paid for three to five years and who had laid off thousands of workers and shut down equipment and plants�.
2. Jonathan spent a lot less on infrastructure, according to Fashola
Fashola says: “In a country where the population is growing faster than the infrastructure, the difference between these budgets must tell you that this government is more serious about providing infrastructure to support you.
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“Another feature of the difference between these two budget sizes is that the last government was spending less on infrastructure for almost one decade when oil prices stayed at $100 per barrel during that decade.
“This government is spending more on infrastructure when oil prices largely hovered between $40-$60.�
3. Nigerians shouldnâ€
t return to PDP, Fashola advises
Given how much the Buhari administration has pumped into critical infrastructure, re-electing the APC should be a no brainer, Fashola says.
“So, if you need more roads, more bridges, more power, more housing and the job opportunities and prosperity that their delivery will bring, your choice in the next election should be easier�, Fashola says.
“Donâ€t go back to a budget of N25.2 billion for infrastructure, move forward with a budget for infrastructure which has grown to N529 billion in 2018.
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“So, in making your choice, please consider who is the better manager. The one who did less with more or the one who did more with less?�
4. Fashola says he knows why Jonathan hurriedly conceded
According to Fashola, Jonathan quickly conceded because he knew Nigeria was fast heading into a recession, having mismanaged the economy so badly.
“That was one of the reasons why the economy first went into a recession, and, I suspect, one of the reasons they (Goodluck administration) quickly conceded defeat�, Fashola says.
Nigeria emerged from its worst recession in 29 years in September of 2017.
5. The APC is devoting more to infrastructure
“In 2017, the All Progressive Congress (APC) led administration budget for works was N394 billion; power was N69.96 billion and housing was N64.9 billion (total- N529 billion) and oil price hovered between $40-$60 per barrel", Fashola says.
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Fashola served as Governor of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, from 2007 to 2015. He has come under scathing criticism for not being able to fix Nigeria's perennial electricity problem since the APC took over power from the PDP in 2015.
5 ways Fashola attacked Goodluck Jonathan at Town hall
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