The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that banditry became rampant because of the poverty created by Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Amaechi, speaking on ‘Hard Copy’ a Channels Television programme, claimed the money Jonathan left for Nigeria after he left office in May 2015, was not enough to run the country for three weeks.
The ex-Governor of Rivers State claimed that while he was chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ forum, he was informed by officials of the Presidency that there was virtually no money left in the treasury.
Amaechi said, “When you talk about bandits and all these people that kill, it’s a question about poverty and it did not start in this regime.
Don’t forget oil was sold at $110, $114, $115 a barrel. When this government came into power, oil fell to $28 a barrel and since then it hasn’t gone above $80 per barrel.
“As former chairman of the governors’ forum, I was told by the security in a meeting chaired by the former President including the former minister of finance that at every point in time, the government must leave money behind in case Nigeria goes to war that would last for six months.
“By the time we came, they didn’t leave money behind that could last us for three weeks. And I was speaking at that time as the chairman of the governors’ forum.”