- Senator Shehu Sani has reacted to federal government's move to borrow more loans from foreign countries
- Sani, the chairman of Senate committee of foreign and local debts, said the country is on the verge of recolonisation
- The senator's reaction is sequel to the move by the federal government to borrow more loans from India and Brazil
Following the shocking revelation of the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics on the debt profile of the country, the upper legislative chamber, the Senate, has expressed sadness over the rising figures of Nigeria debts.
Expressing worries over the dangerous trend, the Senate committee on foreign and local debts described the debt profile as highly unfortunate considering the present economy of the country, The Punch reports.
It would be recalled that the Nigeria’s external debt commitment skyrocketed by $11.77 billion in the last three years, with the Debt Management Office (DMO) revealing that the country’s external debt rose from $10.32 billion in 2015 to $22.08 billion as of June 30, 2018.
Reacting to the development, the Senate panel through it chairman, Senator Shehu Sani noted that Nigeria had been borrowing to execute capital projects, and decried the recent move by the federal government to take loan from both India and Brazil.
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Senator Sani thus called the attention of concerned Nigerians to what it described as a disaster to economy.
He said: “The truth is that the nation has been consistently taking foreign loans to execute capital projects especially roads, rail, airports and water dams.
“Even now, they are perfecting arrangements to take $1billion loan from Brazil to fund agriculture while also engaging in talks with India to take $100 million for information and communication technology.
“It is important to note that debt is the new colonialism in the world. Nations in both the east and west are struggling to conserve their money. By giving us loans, they are investing in the future of their children.
“It is ironic that the federal government agencies are declaring billions and trillions as revenue generated, and at the same time, the government is busy taking foreign loans.
“We must be careful so that our country is not recolonised through the indiscriminate loans we are taking without anything to show for it.''
Sani also warned about the impending danger of borrowing, noting that Nigeria has been burdened by loans since the tenure of former president Olusegun Obasanjo till date
He said: “Despite the fact that we have been out of debt under former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, our external debt profile is rising at over $22 billion.
“If we are going by the pending request, we may reach a red line that could be very dangerous. Any attempt to load debts on this country is anti-people''
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the world debt had hit an all-time record of $184 trillion, an upward review from the $182 trillion it reported last week.
The figure represents an average of $86,000 debt owed per person, according to a statement by Ting Yan, a press officer at IMF, on Global Debt Database (GDD) update.
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