N41.6 Trillion Debt: Kebbi Governor Defends Nigerian Govt’s Borrowing

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Monday, October 10th, 2022

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State has defended the huge foreign indebtedness of Nigeria, saying that the situation with the country is not “hopeless.”

The governor, who is also the chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, the umbrella body of all governors of the All Progressives Congress(APC), spoke in Ado- Ekiti on Monday at a valedictory conference in honour of the outgoing governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi.

Mr Fayemi’s tenure as governor ends on Saturday, the 15th of October.

Governor Bagudu said the level of Nigeria’s indebtedness should not be a reason for people to be hopeless about the country.

The Debt Management Office had put Nigeria’s total public debt at N41.6trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2022 and is predicted to rise to N45 trillion by the end of the year.

The Federal Government is said to have spent N1.94trillion on debt servicing within the same period.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2023 budget comes with a deficit of N11.30trillion, projecting borrowing as one of the ways to fund the deficit.

The government has already finalised plans to borrow another N11trillion for that purpose.

But Mr Bagudu said Nigerians should not despair or be disillusioned over the situation

“Even great nations like the USA, who are even more economically advanced than Nigeria are even more indebted than Nigeria,” Mr Bagudu said.

“What we need now are investments through global partnerships for over 200million population, to build our economy and build our people.”