By Michael Eboh and Susan Onuorji
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Tuesday, accused former governors of contributing to the economic woes afflicting the nation by opposing his government’s efforts to save for the rainy day when the price of oil was higher.
Obasanjo, who spoke at the 2016 World Pension Summit in Abuja, lamented that many of the former state executives frustrated his genuine attempt to save a substantial portion of the country’s resources when there was excess oil revenue.
Obasanjo said at the event attended by global pension players and top government officials, “I remember when I was in government and I told, particularly, the governors, ‘please let us save for the rainy days.’ They said no!.
“There was no rain at that time, now that the rain has come; there is nothing we can fall back on to cushion us.”
Obasanjo, however, commended the secured nature of the pension scheme, stating that despite the many years of sleaze in the Nigerian polity, the pension funds were not touched.
He said, “One of the things that makes me very happy in the pension scheme is that in the last five years, when almost everything goes, concerning public funds, pension funds remain sacrosanct. I believe that the pension funds are something we must preserve, no matter what we do.”
Obasanjo however called for caution in introducing innovations into the pension scheme to ensure that the ability of people to access their pension funds when they retire is not jeopardized.
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