$500m NTA loan dubious, station not worth amount to be borrowed —Omokri

Reno Omokri, a hard critic of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has raised eyebrows over the proposed move by the Federal Government to borrow the sum of $500m to digitalize the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

The former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan who lambasted President Buhari over his administration’s plan, stated in a post on his official Twitter page that the loan is dubious.

The author further went ahead to state that the NTA is not worth the said amount to be borrowed by the Federal Government.

He tweeted; “General @MBuhari wants to borrow $500 million to digitize NTA. The whole of NTA is not worth $500 million. @AlGore’s TV station, which is bigger than NTA, was sold to @AlJazeera for $500 million. It is you and your kids that will pay this dubious loan!

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“There‘s no pressing need for Nigeria to borrow $500 million to upgrade NTA. We have more urgent needs. $500 million can build 500 new schools for our 13.5 million out of school kids and 1000 clinics for the 1% of Nigerian mothers who die during childbirth,” he added.

Nigeria’s Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed had claimed that the NTA would be able to compete with television stations like CNN should the ministry get approval for a $500 million loans.

Mohammed was quoted to have made this claim when he spoke before the Nigerian Senate committee on local and foreign loans.

He told the lawmakers that the $500 million loan was very important to the ministry. The loan is part of the $30 billion loan President Buhari wants lawmakers to approve, was very important.

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