DEBT: Moghalu predicts uncertain future for Nigeria, says govt irresponsible

Kingsley Moghalu, former member of African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said Nigeria is heading for an uncertain future as a result of its humongous debt.

Moghalu’s prediction was on the backdrop of the disheartening fiscal performance report recently released by the federal government.

In the report, Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, said the federal government’s total revenue in the first four months of 2022 was N1.63 trillion while debt service attracted N1.94 trillion.

She thus noted that the federal government must come up with urgent measures to address revenue underperformance and expenditure efficiency at national and sub-national levels.

This development has generated concerns from Nigerians who faulted the Buhari-led adminstration for poor economic policies and others.

Read also: Nigeria is a blockbuster Nollywood movie —Moghalu

Reacting via a series of tweets on Monday, Moghalu blamed the worrisome situation on the irresponsibility of the federal government.

The ex-deputy Central Bank of Nigeria Governor stressed that quick steps need to be taken to avert the imminent crises.

“When some of us were warning that we’re heading into a debt crisis, some official jokers in high places in this country told us “No: our debt to GDP ratio is still manageable” Now that we have earned N1.6 trillion in Q1 of 2022 and spent N1.9 trillion to service debt, effectively borrowing over N300 billion to pay our debt, the jury is in. We have fallen off the debt cliff. The next government in Nigeria, whoever leads it, will have to pull a rabbit out a hat to keep our fiscal boat afloat. Asset sales and debt restructuring will likely be inevitable”, Moghalu said.

“Unlike in the OBJ era, no one will give us debt relief. Our case is weak because we have been irresponsible. Simple. The issue for us as a developing country was always the ratio of debt to our revenues. Now it’s at 120% . Welcome to Nigeria. Anyone quoting the debt figures of the US and Japan – seriously productive economies – in relation to Nigeria’s debt crisis deserves to be flogged in the public square”, he added.

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