‘Nigeria dodged a massive howitzer,’ Keyamo slams Obi over public funds comment

By Ayobami Okerinde The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticised the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, over his claim that Nigeria could be wealthier if public funds were kept in banks to earn interest. Reacting in a post on his X account on Wednesday, Keyamo described Obi’s remarks as unintelligent and linked them to what he claimed was a decline in the former governor’s approval ratings.

“This dumbness is beyond measure. I really don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. No wonder his approval ratings have plummeted so badly. “Nigeria did not just dodge a bullet; it ducked a massive howitzer!” Keyamo wrote. Vanguard had reported that Obi, speaking during an interview with a radio station in Nasarawa State on Wednesday, argued that Nigeria would be significantly wealthier if leaders left public funds in banks to generate interest instead of mismanaging the country’s resources.

“I wish everybody in this country left money in the bank; they have interest. Nigeria would have been so rich that we don’t know what to do with money,” he said Obi also addressed questions surrounding his administration’s public engagements, explaining that he believed the results of government projects should speak for themselves because they were financed with public funds.

“We did what we were doing with public money, so the public already see us working, so why are we going to do the ceremony or showing it on TV? Maybe I was wrong, but that was what happened,” he said.