Keyamo Slams Obi Over Claim Nigeria Could Get Richer From Bank Interest

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 become significantly wealthier if public funds were kept in banks to generate interest.

Keyamo, in a post on his X account on Wednesday, described Obi’s remarks as unintelligent and linked them to what he claimed was a sharp decline in the former Anambra State 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.

Obi made the remarks during an interview with a radio station in Nasarawa State on Wednesday, arguing that Nigeria would have been much wealthier if public funds had been kept in banks to earn interest rather than being mismanaged.

“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.

The former Anambra governor also explained his administration’s approach to publicising government projects, saying he believed the results of its activities should speak for themselves because they were funded with public money.

According to him, there was little need to organise ceremonies or showcase projects on television when members of the public could already see the work being done.

“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.