From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the warning of the World Bank on the inherent danger in continuous borrowing by the Federal Government has vindicated its stance on the consequence of the country’s growing foreign debt.
The PDP, in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, reiterated its earlier call on the National Assembly not to approve the recent $5.5 billion loan request by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The opposition party said regardless of its genuine advice to the government to stop incurring more debts for future generations, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has insisted that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will continue to borrow before it can fund projects contained in this year’s budget.
“However, our altruistic position on the evil of unbridled borrowing by the government has been confirmed by the World Bank, which has issued a caveat to the APC government not to borrow and plunge the future of this country into uncertainty.
“Issuing the warning through its Senior Economist, Mrs Gloria Joseph-Raji, on Monday, in Abuja, the World Bank stated clearly that the cost of borrowing or paying interest on Nigeria’s debt is not sustainable as revenues to make such payment has dried up.
“The World Bank stated unequivocally that the country’s debt to revenue ratio, which stood at 35 per cent in 2015, has grown to 60 per cent by 2016, reflecting a reduction in government revenues and rising debt profile, thereby, raising a question about the debt sustainability,” the PDP said.
The opposition party said it was appalled that after it worked assiduously to take the country out of debt during its 16 years reign, the current administration is “stacking debt for the future generations without any corresponding infrastructure development in the country to justify the huge borrowing.”