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‘Obaseki was in APC. He understands them,’ Wike defends Edo gov on N60bn controversy

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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Sunday leapt to the defence of his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, on the N60 billion controversy.

The governor had said last week that the Federal Government printed about N60 billion to share to the federating units in March.

In a statement titled: “Our advice is that we should stop playing the Ostrich,” Obaseki urged the federal government to take urgent steps to end the current monetary rascality in order to prevent the country’s prevailing economic challenge from degenerating further.

He said: “While we do not want to join issues with the Federal Ministry of Finance, we believe it is our duty to offer useful advice for the benefit of our country.”

The governor challenged the Central Bank of Nigeria to unequivocally declare if money was printed or not.

Wike, who defended Obaseki in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, in Port-Harcourt, said his colleague’s statement cannot be regarded as spurious.

READ ALSO: ‘Allow CBN to discharge mandate efficiently,’ APC tells PDP

He said: “Obaseki was in APC, so he understands them. So, Obaseki couldn’t have come from the blues to say they printed N60 billion. He knows them.

He also knocked the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for threatening the states to pay back the bailout given to them by the Federal government, rather than addressing the challenge.

The governor added: “Instead of answering the question, he (Emefiele) said governors have to pay back the bailout loan. The bailout is a loan, if you want to take it, go and take it. But answer the question whether money was printed or not printed.”

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