Borrowed Funds Should Only Be Use For Finance – Peter Obi

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party, said on Wednesday that federal and state governments should only utilize borrowed money for financial purposes.

In a series of tweets, Obi advocated for only funding “productive ventures” with borrowed money.

The former governor of Anambra State criticized states that received financial bailouts but did not “fully” invest the money.

“As a matter of urgency, Nigeria must cease borrowing for consumption, but only borrow to invest in regenerative development projects and other productive ventures,” he tweeted.

RECOMMENDED: https://brandnewsday.com/2022/08/10/tinubu-to-obi-malicious-falsehood-information-wont-win-elections/

https://brandnewsday.com/2022/08/02/cbn-to-sell-polaris-bank-for-n40-billion-to-ibbs-in-law-after-redeeming-it-with-n1-2-trillion/

https://brandnewsday.com/2022/08/10/owo-killing-gov-akeredolu-speaks-on-why-govt-refuse-to-announce-terrorists-arrest/

It’s ironic, said Obi, that states that received fiscal bailouts mismanaged their investments, did not pay back their loans, and are still borrowing more than they can afford.

“Also, it has become imperative to restrict Federal borrowings to the statutory 5% of the previous year’s revenue. – PO.”

BRANDNEWSDAY observed an analysis of the reports on the Budget Office of Nigeria’s website revealed that Buhari’s administration had spent at least N54.98tn on budget implementation since its inception, but has only financed this spending with N24.39tn, leaving a deficit of N30.58tn.

The current administration spent at least N23.66 trillion on personnel costs, pensions, overhead costs, the presidential amnesty program, other service-wide votes, and special interventions, according to a breakdown of some of the expenses.

Additionally, the administration has spent at least N14.13 trillion servicing domestic and foreign debts, with at least N10.47 trillion going toward capital expenditures.

As of March 2022, the country’s total debt profile reached N41.06 trillion, according to the Debt Management Office.