Why Nigeria Must Continue To Borrow To Survive – Senate President

Posted by Nwa Diokpa Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Friday, June 25th, 2021

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has stated that it is important for the Federal Government to continue to borrow responsibly to fund critical projects in Nigeria because of the paucity of funds in the country.

Lawan disclosed this on Thursday during a briefing of State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

According to Lawan, it is not reasonable for the Federal Government to tax the people more in the face of the present economic condition because the country’s infrastructure must be developed.

He said, “You can’t, in my view and judgment, tax Nigerians further for you to raise the money for infrastructural development; other countries do that, but we’ve serious situation across the country.

“So, you can’t put taxes on the people. The only option left is for us to borrow responsibly, utilise prudently and economically, and ensure that the projects are self-sustaining; that they can pay back the loan.

“Our options are really very limited as a country. First, we don’t have the necessary revenue; Nigeria is poor, we shouldn’t deceive ourselves. Nigeria is not rich given the circumstances we live in, given the challenges we have.

“Our resources are so low, our revenues are so low; therefore, the option of not doing anything just to sit (because we’ve no money, we should not go for infrastructure development) is not an option worthy of consideration. You cannot keep the economy stagnant.”