…“you’re beginning to see an uptick in the numbers of people suffering, capital mobilisation is poor” Rufai said.
LAGOS, NIGERIA- The iNews Times| Arise Television’s Morning Show anchor, Rufai Oseni, has criticised the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over rising debt levels, warning that poor utilisation of borrowed funds could worsen Nigeria’s economic condition.
His remarks followed the President’s recent comment that debt is not a “leprosy.”
Speaking on The Morning Show on Thursday, Rufai described Nigeria’s debt profile as increasingly burdensome, cautioning that it could become “leprosy” if not properly managed.
Rufai argued that the high cost of debt servicing, estimated at between N15 trillion and N16 trillion within a N60 trillion budget, is placing a significant strain on the country’s finances without corresponding improvements in citizens’ welfare.
Rufai also criticised what he described as an uneven political environment, alleging that the government is stifling opposition voices.
He maintained that a fair and competitive political space would allow voters to make independent choices.
“I’ll tell you debt is a leprosy. Yes, debt is a leprosy. You know why it’s leprosy, your cost of serving the debt or servicing the debts, when you spend about 15 to 16 trillion in a budget that goes about 60 trillion.
“Now look at the percentage of what you use in debt service. It becomes leprosy, especially when you cannot see what you’re doing with the debt.
“This argument that, oh, we are doing it for roads, everything road does not similarly transfer to development and growth.
“You’re beginning to see an uptick in the numbers of people suffering, capital mobilisation is poor.
“So this argument of doing roads and everything, it doesn’t give an uptick in economic… They’ve borrowed another $516m. They’ve racked up the debt to about N160 trillion. What have we to show for it? People are poor. Their lives are worse off.
“They’ve done, for example, kilometres of coastal road. We are still asking them what’s the bidding process for that? Why did they have a preferred company? They’ve gone to the port. They have borrowed another money for the ports.
“Let’s be realistic, debt can become leprosy if not properly used, and the idea at which Nigeria is using it is not better. What is the state of the federal medical centres today? What state of the schools in the country today?
“They claim they’ve done student loan, yes, but it’s still a loan because the student has to pay it back.
“Debt is leprosy, if it’s not properly used and we are losing it in a leprosy way. In fact, our debt has taken Nigeria to a lepers colony.”
