The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that it is against the plan by the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to borrow the sum of $29.96billion. The party queried the rationale behind the government’s request to the National Assembly for huge external borrowing, wondering what has happened to all the recovered funds from indicted ex-officials of government.
In a statement issued yesterday evening by its Spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the PDP said that its attention has been drawn to letters submitted by the Federal Government of Nigeria to the National Assembly seeking approval for an external borrowing of $29.960b, and movement of N180b appropriated for special intervention to funding of ‘critical recurrent and capital items’.
“We totally disagree with the APC-led Federal Government on this latest move, and call on President Muhammed Buhari to first and foremost explain to Nigerians what his administration has done with the so called ‘recovered looted funds’ and how far the 2016 Budget is fairing.
“Also, President Buhari must itemize what he intends to finance with this proposed borrowing of almost $30b instead of lumping it up in a coded term, and to plunge the nation’s future into burden of debt.
More so, this approach cannot be the preferred solution to the economic quagmire which this government created due to ineptitude.” PDP said that the Federal Government had budgeted the sum of N6.07 trillion for the 2016 fiscal year with deficit of N2.22 trillion.
The party said that according to the breakdown, N1.8trn was budgeted for Capital Expenditure and President Buhari is now seeking to borrow over N9 trillion ($29.960 billion) for ‘critical infrastructure’. “This is absurd and way outside the Government budgetary provisions for Capital Expenditure and must be rejected by all wellmeaning Nigerians.”
