President Muhammadu Buhari
President Buhari, on Tuesday, vowed to get Africa’s
biggest economy back on track after claiming the
previous administration had left the treasury “virtually
empty”. “We will try and put the system back into the
right position,” Muhammadu Buhari said at a meeting of
governors from Nigeria’s 36 states and Federal Capital
Territory in Abuja.

“What happened in the Second Republic (1979-1983)
has apparently happened again, and even worse, but
we will restore sanity to the system.” Comparisons
between president Shehu Shagari’s government and that
of Buhari’s predecessor Goodluck Jonathan will not be
lost on Nigerians.

Buhari, then an army general, seized power in a
December 1983 coup, overthrowing elected president
Shagari, whose administration was widely seen as
corrupt and ineffective. He then embarked on a severe
anti-corruption campaign and so-called “war of
indiscipline” to root out graft until he was himself
ousted in a military take-over.

The 72-year-old’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has
estimated the country’s debts stand at some $60 billion
(54 billion euros) and said Nigeria’s economy is in its
worst state in the country’s 55-year independent
history. Global oil shocks have squeezed Nigeria’s
crude-dependent finances, forcing government projects
to be scrapped or halted, while state employees have
gone months without being paid.

A fuel shortage crippled the country in the week before
Buhari took office on May 29 and electricity production
slumped to an all-time low of just over 1,000
megawatts. Buhari has promised to streamline
government to cut waste, increase transparency and cut
corruption, and told governors that established rules
and procedures had been “thrown to the dogs”.

In particular, he expressed concern about oil sector
fraud and the non-payment of federal revenues into
government coffers since 2011 but maintained the
situation can be turned around. A full statement on the
nation’s finances inherited by his government will be
made within the next month, he promised, according to
a statement from his office.

On Monday, Buhari said Jonathan had left the country
deep in debt, “with the treasury virtually empty”. But he
added on Tuesday: “The next three months may be hard
but billions of dollars can be recovered, and we will do
our best.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/06/we-will-restore-sanity-to-the-system-buhari-declares/

Baba we d ur back, carry go.