Why Nigeria can’t stop borrowing – Ahmed, Finance minister

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Amid growing concerns over Nigeria’s debt profile, the Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said the dual reality of COVID-19 pandemic and the drop in the price of oil in th

e international market has made it inevitable for Nigeria to keep borrowing from external bodies.

The minister, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Finance and Economy, Mrs Sarah Alade, said government was doing its best to make sure the revenue base was broadened and expenditure reduced. She noted that if citizens also participated by paying taxes and doing the right things, it would go a long way in solving the country’s problems, especially raising revenues.

But, Ahmed said, “We’ve had to grapple with low revenue, even before the pandemic. We had high debt, weak infrastructure base, low human capital and low revenue that is largely dependent on the foreign exchange earned from oil. So, there are many things we have loved to do that we cannot do. She said in addressing the situation, government had come up with key fiscal measures that government could not but borrow to accomplish. She identified them to include the 12-month economic sustainability plan to mitigate the effect of COVID-19; measures to support the private sector, which includes the implementation of the Finance Act 2020 aimed at supporting MSMEs and strategic industries affected by the pandemic.

 

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