Obasanjo also claimed that while his predecessor left $3.7 billion for him, he handed over a reserve of over $50 billion to his successor
By Kehinde Okeowo
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has said his administration left Nigeria’s economy better he met it when he assumed power in 1999.
He made this known while speaking at the Safe Online Youth Fellowship Bootcamp in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, where he recalled landmark achievements made by his administration.
According to the former president, his government revamped the economy he inherited and left it in a better shape when he handed over in 2007.
He went on to boast that his administration also set Nigeria free from bondage of debt.
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He further claimed that while his predecessor left $3.7 billion for him, he handed over a reserve of over $50 billion to his successor
Addressing participants at the event, Obasanjo said: “When I came in as elected President, I wanted to get debt relief because we were spending $3.5 billion every year servicing debt and the quantum of the debt was not going down. Today, I can say that I made Nigeria better than I found it from an economic perspective.
“I found $3.7 billion in the reserves and we were spending $3.5 billion to service our debt. By the time I left, we had a debt of about $36 billion with the debt relief, and I left with a debt of $3.6 billion. Also, I left a reserve of over $50 billion. I also achieved excess crude for the country worth over $25 billion.”
Obasanjo, who simply defined success as leaving a place better than one found it, said that he achieved that during his eight years in the saddle.