The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi has raised concerns again at the nation’s rising debt profile saying that N97.3 trillion is on the high side and worrisome.
According to the former Anambra State Governor, even more disturbing is the fact that most of these debts are not deployed for production.
Obi termed as hazardous to growth, the spending of approximately N10 trillion to service unproductive loans.
Explaining further his anxieties, Obi posted in his X handle on Tuesday adding “I remain concerned about our borrowings, considering their galloping situation over the years, and its concomitant effects on the economy.
What is more concerning is that, as required by law, there have been no investments or comparable evident usage to demonstrate their influence on the country.
“Our debt stood at N87.9 trillion at the end of the second quarter, Q2, of 2023. This was very concerning to us because we were unsure of what to do with the enormous debt, especially the over N30 trillion in ways and means borrowed by the previous administration, which, in my opinion, would have been the end of borrowing without any obvious and commensurate investment that will benefit the country.
Even more concerning is the fact that, without any corresponding visible or verifiable utilization of such debts, between the end of the third quarter, Q3, and the end of the fourth quarter, Q4, of 2023, about N10 trillion was added to our debt profile, bringing our debts to N97.3 trillion. To the best of my knowledge, this is the highest amount of money ever borrowed in a single quarter.
In 2023, the entire amount of debt serviced by our country was N4.4 trillion for domestic debt and $3.5 billion, or around N4.9 trillion, for overseas debt. Effectively, N10 trillion has been set aside to pay off non-productive debt.
The inference is that the total amount we borrowed in a quarter—roughly N10 trillion—and the amount we spent on debt servicing—roughly N10 trillion—both exceed the total amount allotted to the four highest priority areas of the budget: infrastructure ($1.32 trillion), health ($1.33 trillion), education ($2.18 trillion), and defense ($3.25 trillion).
“I kindly request that the government of our country slow down the pace of borrowing and conduct a thorough review to determine the outcomes of our past borrowing so that we can make better decisions for the country’s benefit.
Our limited resources will not only be properly accounted for, but also wisely and efficiently managed in the New Nigeria of our dreams, enabling us to transition from a country of consumption to one of production.