BENIN CITY, Nigeria — Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has described Nigeria as “technically bankrupt” and urged the Federal Government to embrace restructuring as a means to address the country’s economic challenges.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, September 19, 2024, Governor Obaseki criticised the government’s central resource management, arguing that the outdated system has stifled economic progress.
“Nigeria is technically bankrupt. And I mean it,” Obaseki stated during the interview.
He explained that the nation does not generate enough revenue to meet its expenditures, yet spending remains high.
The governor pointed out that in other countries, such as the United States, bankruptcy leads to restructuring through legal frameworks like Chapter 11, but Nigeria has not taken similar steps to reorganise its financial affairs.
“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,” Obaseki remarked.
The governor emphasised that the Federal Government does not possess the capacity to manage the economy centrally, noting that the mismanagement of resources, particularly in the oil sector, exemplifies the country’s inefficiency.
Citing Edo State’s 147 oil wells, of which only 53 are currently productive, Obaseki highlighted the missed economic opportunities caused by the Federal Government’s approach.
“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,” he said, before stressing that individual states should have greater control over their own economic assets.
Obaseki argued that decentralizing economic management would allow states to harness their resources better while contributing to the federal structure.
He stated that Nigeria’s federal government has demonstrated an inability to manage the country’s assets effectively and urged for a structural redesign.
“Unless you create a new design that allows the individual states to take advantage of their economic opportunities… 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 said.
The governor further criticised the government for being “stuck in the past,” suggesting that the current structure is outdated and unsuitable for addressing the country’s complex economic issues.
He called for bold, decisive action, lamenting the lack of political will to implement necessary changes.
“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,” Obaseki concluded.
Governor Obaseki’s remarks come amid growing frustration over Nigeria’s economic woes, including rising inflation, fuel shortages, and unemployment.
His call for restructuring echoes the sentiments of many who believe that decentralizing power and economic control to the states could unlock the nation’s economic potential.
