Abati also corrected the assertion by Melaye that the FG bought a yacht for President Tinubu’s use.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Veteran Journalist and former presidential aide, Reuben Abati, has dismissed suggestion by former Kogi State gubernatorial candidate, Dino Melaye, that President Bola Tinubu might start borrowing loans from Nigeria’s leading Fintech companies, Opay and Moniepoint soon.
He wayed-in on the matter on Tuesday
while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show.
Melaye had earlier accused Tinubu’s administration of recklessness while faulting the President’s claim that the country had met its revenue projections for 2025.
He said, “This government is one of the most reckless governments in the history of this country. The president who said he wanted to come and curb wastages bought a yacht, that yacht the president bought has never been to the territorial area of Nigeria, it’s between Monaco and Paris”
Melaye added, “We will not be surprised if the president starts borrowing from Opay and Moniepoint very soon.”
Reacting to the claims, Abati said loans from Opay and Moniepoint are not the kind of money the Tinubu administration needs.
ALSO READ: Dino Melaye mocks Tinubu, says ‘President may soon borrow from Opay, Moniepoint’
He also corrected the assertion by the former senator that the Nigeria government bought a yacht for President Tinubu’s use.
He said: “Dino Melaye is a chieftain of the ADC, an opposition party, so you do not expect that he would praise the Tinubu’s administration.
“He is a very articulate and outspoken personality, so he is accusing the president of borrowing. Now let’s look into the details, President Tinubu said ‘we have met revenue projections and are making a lot of money from non-oil and we are not borrowing from Nigerian banks’.
“I’m surprised that Melaye is talking about borrowing from MoniePoint and Opay. I don’t think that is the kind of money the Nigerian government will be looking for in terms of capacity.
“The other claim that he made that Tinubu has a yacht paid for by Nigerian taxpayers and it’s between Monaco and wherever. That is not true, when this issue of yacht came up, it wasn’t the Tinubu administration that talked about yacht, it was the Buhari’s administration in the 2023 Supplementary budget.
“At that time when the controversy came up and people were saying why yacht for the President? The Navy came forward and said it was a vessel they used for Naval operations that was named Presidential yacht and not for President Tinubu, so it’s not something that was purchased for luxury but you know in politics, you can bring up anything that is sensational.”
