Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has urged Federal and State Governments to explore non-oil revenue streams, adding that reliance on crude oil income is unsustainable for the country’s economy.

The governor called for the quick diversification of the nation’s economy to increase non-oil revenue while speaking with journalists on Monday,

“Before the Civil War, we had no crude oil: The regions relied on the resources that they had and the government was run based on taxation, which was derived from the regions and production, particularly agricultural production in the regions.

“In the last 40 years or so, crude oil came and replaced those economic activities and earnings. So, we now run a federation relying almost exclusively on crude oil.

“Solely relying on crude oil income is unsustainable; the time for diversification is now,” the financial expert said in a string of tweets.

Obaseki had come under fire for saying that the Federal Government printed N60bn to share as part of federal allocation in March.

But the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, faulted the governor’s claim.

The PUNCH