The Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume,
advised the regime of the President, Muhammadu Buhari,
against spending foreign loans which the nation is getting from international
lending agencies on recurrent expenditure like salaries and overhead.
The former senate leader, who is representing Borno South
Senatorial District in the National Assembly, gave the advise in a statement he
personally signed on Sunday, on the Democracy Day commemoration.
The country’s currently debt profile according to the Debt
Management Office hit N33.10 trn as of the end of the first quarter of 2021.
This represents an increase of N191bn compared to the
N32.91trn recorded in December 2020.
The DMO in a statement last Wednesday, had said the debt
figures include the debt stock of the federal and state governments, as well as
the Federal Capital Territory.
Ndume said, there was absolutely nothing wrong with a
country taking foreign loans but that such should be spent to boost agriculture
and the revival o moribund industries.
He also said the loans meant to provide infrastructure
should be obtained from international lending agencies with favourable
conditions.
He said government should ensure that such roads
infrastructure are made to generate revenue by erecting toll plazas on them.
Ndume’s statement read in part, “Concerning the issue of
foreign loan borrowings, the problem is not about borrowing because the idea is
not bad.
“Even developed nations also do the same thing. It is what
the government do with the money that is important.
“The concentration on infrastructural development by the
Buhari administration, especially in the area of railway and road
infrastructure is commendable.
“The Federal Government should look at the possibility of
borrowing for agricultural development so that our people will move from
subsistence farming to a mechanised one.
“If that is achieved, it will generate employment and
guarantee food security. Also, there would be no need for Nigeria to spend
foreign exchange on food importation. We can produce all types of food in
Nigeria only if the farmers are well funded.
“The borrowings should be spent on purchase of farm
implements and other farming machinery and make it available to farmers.
“The external loans should also be used to fund moribund
industries especially textile and spare part manufacturing among others. It is
only through that the government can guarantee borrowings because the
manufacturing industries will come up again through the Manufacturers
Association of Nigeria.
“The government can serve as a guarantee for the loans so
that MAN would coordinate the process of resuscitating the moribund industries
that had been closed down.
“The loans should be borrowed from the international lending
agencies whose terms are very good in order to develop our road infrastructure
and mount toll plazas in order to generate revenue to pay back the loans.
“Borrowings should not be made to defray recurrent
expenditure like payment of salaries and overhead costs. Funding for such
purposes should be sourced locally from taxes and other internally generated
revenues.”
He commended the Buhari regime for the move to fund the
nation’s security and military services for the purpose of tackling insecurity.
He said, “On the issue of insecurity, I have been advocating
an increase in the military funding but that has now been done by the recent
submission of the supplementary budget of over N800bn by the executive arm of
government to the National Assembly.
” Majority of the money is meant to address the security
challenges in the country. This is a commendable effort by President Buhari.
“With this now, there is light at the end of the tunnel
because if the materials and necessary military hardware and equipment are
immediately purchased, and handed over to the military, I am sure that the
Nigerian Army who are known for their gallantry in international assignments
will be able to do more to defend the internal security challenges confronting
Nigeria.”
“I congratulate Nigerians on the commemoration of the June
12 as Democracy Day.
“I commend the President, Muhammadu Buhari, for his decision
to be speaking out to Nigerians because the people have been eager and worried
over his continued silence on critical national issues in recent times.
“Many Nigerians are now happy that their President has
started talking to them once again. I therefore encourage him to be doing that
intermittently, if possible, on quarterly basis.”
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