VOICE AIR MEDIA News Update
President Muhammadu Buhari is to pass on a N46.25 trillion debt burden to the incoming government. According to the Debt Management Office, DMO, Nigeria’s total debt stock has now hit 46 trillion.
Daily Post reports that despite the dust already caused by the existing debt burden, the government said it had received approval from the World Bank on another N369 billion loan ahead of the fuel subsidy removal in June 2023.
In the eight years of the Buhari administration, Nigeria’s debt profile had grown from N12.6 trillion in 2015 to over N46 trillion in 2023. The situation has continued to raise fiscal worries, especially as the International Monetary Fund, IMF, says Nigeria almost emptied its treasury on debt servicing in 2022.
The Federal Inland Revenue said it collected N10 trillion in revenue in 2022, and with a 2023 budget expenditure of N21.83 trillion pegged on deficits of N11.34 trillion. The issue of debt sustainability and economic instability currently chokes Nigeria without hope.
On this ground, the onerous task of surmounting the country’s economic challenges would be shouldered by Tinubu after his swearing-in on May 29, 2023. However, economic experts say fixing Nigeria’s debt-burdened economy would be a hard nut to crack.
Speaking with Dailypost on Monday, Prof. Bongo Adi, a Professor of Economics at Lagos Business School said the debt incurred by Buhari’s government had mortgaged the future of the country through heavy obligations. According to him, the coming days would be difficult for the Nigerian economy because Buhari has left the country broke.
However, he suggested that the only viable option is for the incoming government to seek loan renegotiation, as it is the practice internationally, provided the government has credibility.
From another perspective, the CEO of SD & D Capital Management, Mr Idakolo Gbolade said the incoming government must be ready for serious business because much damage has been done to Nigeria’s economy.
He stressed that Tinubu’s government must devise creative means to gear up the country’s revenue capacity.
