Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Solomon Adeola has denied saying the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari borrowed $400 billion to stabilize the naira, claiming he was misquoted at his Saturday event in Ayetoro, Ogun State.
The lawmaker reacted through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Kayode Odunaro on Monday, saying the report which was published by major newspapers and online platforms was a misquotation of his speech in Yoruba local language during a town hall meeting of his constituents.
He said the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu and the floating of the exchange rate were the best ways to go, noting that without these fiscal policies, the Nigerian economy was headed for a collapse.
He said: “The previous administrations have been spending trillions of naira on fuel subsidy and defending the naira against the dollar, this was to the benefit of a very negligible number of Nigerians while Nigeria accumulated huge national debt.
“At no point did the Senator mention the name of the former President Buhari or make specific reference to his administration as incurring a debt of $400 billion. It is therefore clear that the debt figure attributed to former President Buhari's administration is a misquotation from reporters’ translation of the senator’s speech from Yoruba to English language.
The statement said the misquotation must have been as a result of transcription from Yoruba to English, adding that most correspondents of papers that published the report were not in the town hall meeting.
Adeola said he respects former President Buhari and acknowledged his valiant efforts in piloting the economy under the circumstances he found during his tenure.
