Abcdefghij10000:
Actually borrowing helps to ease the government from using public funds in which the public funds can b used for a more short time workable project. Let me englighten you lets say the government wants to build a capital intensive project of 1b$ like a light rail which the construction would take probably 4 years.Dont you think it would be at a disservice to the nation if almost half of the budget is used for this purpose while leaving some more pressing aspects of development like education and co. So borrowing would actually give the government another source of capital which would be used for the project while the budget can be allocated for other things

base on your context,I want ask,is it every thing that the government want to champion the course? how about public private partnership (PPP) in other climes institutions build a greater percentage of infrastructures but here political thieves a Genetic virus pass on to them by their forefathers the virus dey
flow for their blood

crackhouse:
Nigeria is a scam. Our politicians know what they are doing. They know there will be no Nigeria in some years to come so they want to borrow all they can before they will scatter Nigeria and by then you can't hold anybody accountable. I pity the people that borrow them money cos they are on a long thing. Nigeria will soon collapse. When your debtor die who do you hold?

The debts are linked to the country assets e.g oil reserves, if Nigeria broke into 250 smaller nations the Niger-Delta will still be liable for all the debt. Nigerian politicians are not that smart as you might assume , just look how that homeless Irish fraudster that took them to the cleaners on the P&ID case.

shaw2:
Mister man sit down
When you get their you will still borrow more than bubu.
APC and PDP is same.
Which country in the world doesn't borrow money?.
By 2023 u will still leave PDP for APC. Keep deceiving the mumu wey still believe that naija go better

But while he was there as VP, Nigeria's debt was paid off

veraponpo:
This is half truth but full lie.

The only way to come out of this infrastructural decay is to invest in our infrastructures. Since we dont have huge funds to actualize this dream, the only plausible way is to borrow.

This infrastructure is what will build and boost our earnings repay our debts and give us better living.

Infrastructure like renovating the National assembly with N37B?

He is right but my worry about his speech is the emphasis on oil
Dubai,qatar,saudi all have bigger oil deposits yet are all moving away from oil and investing hugely in other facets of life
Think about it saudi built a stadium within a month just to host a boxing match
Do u know the foreign exchange they received alone from that singular event
Like another poster said industrialisation is the key
That's why tertiary education is expensive abroad and u have student loans cuz once u are done with high school u can work in a factory or plant rather than just rushing to university and ending up jobless
Most Nigerians in the west work in factories and sometimes do two jobs and are well paid
Only few with the means or after hustling go on to become doctors,nurses,engineers etc
Oil here is just a means to steal
Cc immhotep GMBuharii Adaibeku bastardmod

Abcdefghij10000:
Actually borrowing helps to ease the government from using public funds in which the public funds can b used for a more short time workable project. Let me englighten you lets say the government wants to build a capital intensive project of 1b$ like a light rail which the construction would take probably 4 years.Dont you think it would be at a disservice to the nation if almost half of the budget is used for this purpose while leaving some more pressing aspects of development like education and co. So borrowing would actually give the government another source of capital which would be used for the project while the budget can be allocated for other things

A light rail project built with borrowed funds can pay off itself from revenue generated if properly managed.

How will digitizing NTA be of benefit to anyone? How will such an investment pay off the loan?

SaintLucia:
Coming from someone that sold public assets to himself. A man that shamefully sold public asset of $2.5 billion for $120 million should rather put work on how to redeem his image from what is boss Obasanjo wrote about him. The most importance thing about borrowing is to use the money for it purposes.

If I remember vividly, d buhari administration took delivery of $320m abacha loot and said it will share d money 4d "poorest of d poor". D following month, d same govt that was $320m richer went to China to borrow another $320m.

But pls see what APC said about atiku

The refineries that successive governments have sunk money into for decades, what has become of them with the losses they report annually? At least they still belong 100% to the government. How efficient is our port system that is fully owned by the FG? What of the Ajaokuta steel after all the campaign promises?

Nigeria Airways was not sold off, rather the FG allowed it go moribund because as usual, it is ineffective in running businesses. After the fake logo launch of how many millions of dollars in 2018, what has happened? Delta Steel Company had already completely collapsed under the weight of government mismanagement in the 90's before it was sold to Premium Steel. With or without the sale to Premium Steel, it would have been remained dead. With the sale of DSC to Premium Steel, whose responsibility is it to monitor the operations there and ensure that the TORs for the sale in the first place are complied with? Is it not the same government? How have they performed?

That is why in the op, it was repeated several times that the problem is with poor capacity of leadership and lack of vision. That is what is still holding the country down to date!

Exc2000:





Shut up abeg.. Borrowing for infrastructure is better than selling NNPC


If this scumbarg Atiku and El'rufai didnt sell off Nigerian Asset like Nitel and Nigeria Airways or Delta Steel company rather than borrow single digit long term loan to revive the companies, Nigeria would be making extra income by now and we would have paid back the loans while keeping people employed



..

Bedwyr:


Add fuel subsidy removal...and we might even save more....

But Nigerians don't like the idea of making NNPC more private or selling the refineries ….because it means higher fuel prices.

Privatising the refineries, means that the cost of production is going to go up....and that means that a subsidy won't be the answer...as the owner of the private refinery would be operating at a loss...SO It has to go.

Which would lead to riots...

But I like your idea. Pity most Nigerians don't like it.

(Also making NNPC private run reduces the glorious opportunities for corruption there. No way any gofment would allow that...).

But the four refineries at 450k bpd are all operating at less than 5 % capacity, hence privatising make perfect sense as it will reduce fuel imports and create a competitive environment with Dangote 650 bpd refineries.

A competitive refinery environment will reduce the cost of fuel and cut fuel import hence saving precious FX and reducing cost to the consumers.

As VP abi?
when he gets there and becomes untouchable like the way BUBU is doing now same you will still complain if his govt. didn't favor directly.

lexy2014:


But while he was there as VP, Nigeria's debt was paid off

MexManuel:


So you mean we have to borrow and fill in deficits and then hope we have surplus, enough to service or pay off debts.
Hope is not a good word.
Our nation can and should live within her means.

That's the way of most oil producing countries....and the fact is, the revenue we are earning is very very scanty at the moment.

Keep in mind that Nigeria needs oil to be at $139 (it's our breakeven price...because that's the price we need oil to be to earn enough revenue to have a budget that breaks even..is enough)….so if we wanted to 'live within our means' now....that means cutting a lot of cost...including salaries and wages. People would be living at a level worse than it is now.

IMO....we should do things like deregulating the power and petrol sectors...which means more money saved...and less borrowing...as well as more investors and jobs. But because these mean high prices for fuel and power...most Nigerians say no. So...we keep on throwing billions down a big hole every year in the name of subsides...because we have to keep the people happy (and because the short term inflation would make things worse...).

But eventually, we would have the power to fuel our industrial development...and eventually end up diversifying. (hence my call for industrialization at the end).

N.B I am not justifying the borrowing....I am pointing out that if we stopped borowing today, so long as oil prices are low...there would be severe revenue shortfalls....and things would be much harder than they are now.In a way, we have to borrow with sense...which we are not doing.

If I was President, I would have borrowed for things like power and transport, removed fuel subsides, and spent the savings on education, health and some public transport....with the aim of diversifying our economy away from oil.

shaw2:
As VP abi?
when he gets there and becomes untouchable like the way BUBU is doing now same you will still complain if his govt. didn't favor directly.

I don't no what u mean by "if his govt didn't favour directly" and what it has got to do with d comment I made. I also didnt make buhari in my previous comment. Meanwhile, what buhari is doing today isn't strange to those who knew how he ruled d country in d 80s.

sulaak:


But the four refineries at 450k bpd are all operating at less than 5 % capacity, hence privatising make perfect sense as it will reduce fuel imports and create a competitive environment with Dangote 650 bpd refineries.

A competitive refinery environment will reduce the cost of fuel and cut fuel import hence saving precious FX and reducing cost to the consumers.

Yes, yes, yes...a thousand times yes.

That's what I tell people....but the thing is , in the short term, prices are going to go up....and Nigerians don't love that (Cue the old canard....we live in an oil producing society...why should we pay N300 for fuel now??)

Let every single penny borrowed be tied to the project meant for. They should not borrow us the cash then I can support the borrowing

I wonder the types of people we have in this country, so many people are hypocrites and I think that is one major problem in this country. We might not like the messenger but the message is really good.

All Atiku has said is really right and I don't see any right thinking person who will fault all he said.

I know Atiku is corrupt, I accept. The money this government has been borrowing, where is the infrastructure,where is the power after four good years...

Seriously, our future is at stake here, we will and pay back all these money we are borrowing. The government has been borrowing because previous government squandered all the foreign reserve right, so where has the borrowing effected us positively.

Atiku is on point.

SoNature:
And in proof of this, I offer the example of how this administration took delivery of $322 million Abacha loot in 2018 and claimed it shared it out to poor Nigerians, only to obtain a $328 million loan from China, allegedly for ICT development the very next month.

How do you share out $322 million and then borrow $328 million? Who does that? At the risk of repeating myself, it is clear that no amount of money, whether from revenue or borrowings, will be enough for an administration that lacks capacity

When will Nigerians shun tribalism, hate and religion to start electing businessmen to run this country?

I read the article word for word. And I must say that Atiku Abubakar is an intelligent man.

We don't have intelligent leaders. I make bold to say that Buhari is not intelligent, that's why he hardly takes questions from the press. He only reads prepared speeches.

The Candidate exposed the slowpoke, yet some educated persons voted for him for reasons best known to them. Buhari is just killing our children's futures with senseless borrowing

While I await a rejoinder from the APC, I must say that the PDP has to step up its opposition before Buhari ferries the country to the abyss.

That said, I will not pity Nigerians again. If you people like make a madman your president. What I know for certain is that God has settled me and my family for good!

Yeye country, stupid voters!

I read it word for word also...very brilliant man...let hotvftom heaven this bugari 900billion dollars cash.900 billion euros.

Not a single thing would still be working.

Atiku just criticising for selfish reasons...what of USA that borrows trillions of dollars...

Perhaps in the eveninng abeg. Too busy.

Baztardmods:

He has aides, if they are wise, politics aside this is a very good advice to listen to

None of his current crop of aides can advice him. I doubt if buhari can even listen to anyone's idea or advice

I don't know why I have so much confidence in Atiku more than i do with Buhari. This man has sound knowledge of macro economics and without being told, that's what we need now in Nigeria. A leader who understands numbers as it applies to nation building.

Bedwyr:
DISCLAIMER : I am not an APC supporter, I do not work for government in any capacity, nor am I a pro Buhari man, and have never in my life voted for PDP(except once in a Local government election, because there was no better alternative then)...or APC or its precursor parties...

Having got that out of the way...

1.In April 2014...oil prices fell....and kept on falling till in 2016, oil was at $30 per barrel, down from $75 per barrel in 2015...which was down from $120 in Jan 2014....

2.As things stand now, oil is at $60 per barrel.

3,Because of the drop in oil revenues, in order to keep our heads above water....WE HAVE HAD TO BORROW.

4.Also, as has been stated elsewhere...we need oil to be at least $100 per barrel before we can have a good economy( that is why in 2011-14, we had a good economy because oil was above $90 during those times).

5.As long as oil is below $100 per barrel, we would have to borrow. We have no choice.

6.If you want government to stop borrowing...good. I think so too. But that means that in return, salaries would not be paid at all, taxes would be at rates of 50-60% on everyone, including people earning below N50000monthly who are excluded from taxation,and our country would be broke. We would also have to remove subsides on everything..which means fuel would cost N300 and above per liter because now we cannot afford subsides.

7.Ultimately, borrowing has to continue....and EVEN if oil gets up to the ideal of $139 per barrel....which is where we need it not to borrow...we still have to pay off debts accruring previously.


We were here before , from 1982-1991, and again from 1992-2003.

The only way forward is simple....Nigeria must industrialse. Yes, it sounds fanciful, but we must take the hard road to industrialization. There is no ther way, and sadly APC nor PDP have the ideas we need.

We must also cut every subsidy in the fuel and power sector...so that we can save money and attract investors who will build our power and petrol sectors to the point where we can fuel our industrial development.

Nigeria must get off oil.

Now.

Well said. The people condemning borrowing today, give them power tomorrow and they will tell u, the only way out is through borrowing. Too much hypocrites in this country

Abcdefghij10000:
Actually borrowing helps to ease the government from using public funds in which the public funds can b used for a more short time workable project. Let me englighten you lets say the government wants to build a capital intensive project of 1b$ like a light rail which the construction would take probably 4 years.Dont you think it would be at a disservice to the nation if almost half of the budget is used for this purpose while leaving some more pressing aspects of development like education and co. So borrowing would actually give the government another source of capital which would be used for the project while the budget can be allocated for other things

.........actually am shocked that you could mister this kind of response after reading this analysis and seeing with your eyes what is presently happening in the country....I think partisanship should have a limit .

Abcdefghij10000:
Actually borrowing helps to ease the government from using public funds in which the public funds can b used for a more short time workable project. Let me englighten you lets say the government wants to build a capital intensive project of 1b$ like a light rail which the construction would take probably 4 years.Dont you think it would be at a disservice to the nation if almost half of the budget is used for this purpose while leaving some more pressing aspects of development like education and co. So borrowing would actually give the government another source of capital which would be used for the project while the budget can be allocated for other things

u sure say u read am dey are borrowing $25b part to be used to upgrade NTA dat is outdated even in 21st century

Abcdefghij10000:
Actually borrowing helps to ease the government from using public funds in which the public funds can b used for a more short time workable project. Let me englighten you lets say the government wants to build a capital intensive project of 1b$ like a light rail which the construction would take probably 4 years.Dont you think it would be at a disservice to the nation if almost half of the budget is used for this purpose while leaving some more pressing aspects of development like education and co. So borrowing would actually give the government another source of capital which would be used for the project while the budget can be allocated for other things

You no get sense

Abeg clap for Atiku. And some ret@rded idiots here and elsewhere would in good conscience compare this man with the vacuous entity called Buhari? They are aeons apart - in intellectual capacity, in productive capacity, and in competence.

Bedwyr:
DISCLAIMER : I am not an APC supporter, I do not work for government in any capacity, nor am I a pro Buhari man, and have never in my life voted for PDP(except once in a Local government election, because there was no better alternative then)...or APC or its precursor parties...

Having got that out of the way...

1.In April 2014...oil prices fell....and kept on falling till in 2016, oil was at $30 per barrel, down from $75 per barrel in 2015...which was down from $120 in Jan 2014....

2.As things stand now, oil is at $60 per barrel.

3,Because of the drop in oil revenues, in order to keep our heads above water....WE HAVE HAD TO BORROW.

4.Also, as has been stated elsewhere...we need oil to be at least $100 per barrel before we can have a good economy( that is why in 2011-14, we had a good economy because oil was above $90 during those times).

5.As long as oil is below $100 per barrel, we would have to borrow. We have no choice.

6.If you want government to stop borrowing...good. I think so too. But that means that in return, salaries would not be paid at all, taxes would be at rates of 50-60% on everyone, including people earning below N50000monthly who are excluded from taxation,and our country would be broke. We would also have to remove subsides on everything..which means fuel would cost N300 and above per liter because now we cannot afford subsides.

7.Ultimately, borrowing has to continue....and EVEN if oil gets up to the ideal of $139 per barrel....which is where we need it not to borrow...we still have to pay off debts accruring previously.


We were here before , from 1982-1991, and again from 1992-2003.

The only way forward is simple....Nigeria must industrialse. Yes, it sounds fanciful, but we must take the hard road to industrialization. There is no ther way, and sadly APC nor PDP have the ideas we need.

We must also cut every subsidy in the fuel and power sector...so that we can save money and attract investors who will build our power and petrol sectors to the point where we can fuel our industrial development.

Nigeria must get off oil.

Now.

.........first I am also not a party member either APC or PDP ...am good governance advocate. Having said that, I totally beg to disagree with your perpetual borrowing solution to Nigerian problems.

This government lacks leadership, they lack basic unified coordination of various strata of the economy , and again their quest for lies, propaganda, bigotry , lawlessness and finger pointing will not allow them look inwards , take responsibility and engage thorough bread professionals into their economic management team.

Again , their quest to continue looting and keep pointing fingers at other people will also not allow them to do what is right.

Their rude disregard and manipulation of the judiciary, illegal utilization of the arms and law enforcement have greatly frustrated investors confidence on our system hence increased capital flight as foreign investors run to other countries.

Again endemic and ruthless corruption, for instance what has oil price got to do with the government sharing of 322m dollars of repatriated abacha loot on one hand and then borrowing 360m dollars on the other in a very short period .

That's corruption and inept leadership problem..not drop in oil prices ...Atikus write up to me is spot on

voltron14:
Atiku should tell us what his government and party did with 16 years of of non-borrowing.

They created jobs. If that's all they did, we know where the money went. Where is this one going? If you borrow so much for a project, there should be a strong correlation to job creation. Who are the people doing these multi billion naira projects? Why don't we have a job boom since we injected heavy funds? That's one of the essence of an infrastructure drive. To keep the economy employed.

tiwiex:

They created jobs. If that's all they did, we know where the money went. Where is this one going? If you borrow so much for a project, there should be a strong correlation to job creation. Who are the people doing these multi billion naira projects? Why don't we have a job boom since we injected heavy funds? That's one of the essence of an infrastructure drive. To keep the economy employed.

What jobs did they create?

Im sure you must be a teenager.

What many of you fail to realise is that we've been borrowing from the Chinese for projects the Chinese themselves undertake.

Except you are wilfully blind, and in that case nobody can help you, those projects can be seen across the country.

Or can you point to a single loan this government has received that isn't being utilised for said project?

Baztardmods:
Endless Borrowing Will Lead to Endless Sorrowing.

By Atiku Abubakar.

John Quincy Adams once said “there are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.” He may have very well been referring to Nigeria of the last three years.

Barely two weeks ago, I warned during my Founder’s Day lecture at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, that Nigeria had taken almost as much foreign debt in the last three years, as she had taken in the thirty years before 2015 combined. Now that is frightening. And very true.

Frightening, not just because of the amount, but because after such unprecedented borrowing, we have emerged as the world headquarters for extreme poverty and the global capital for out of school children. It begs the question: what were the funds used for?

I have said it time and again. The business of government is too serious to be left in the hands of politicians. We must all ask questions because if they throw away the future, it is not going to be their future they are throwing away, it will be all our futures.

The fact that Nigeria currently budgets more money for debt servicing (₦2.7 trillion), than we do on capital expenditure (₦2.4 trillion) is already an indicator that we have borrowed more money than we can afford to borrow. And the thing is that debt servicing is not debt repayment. Debt servicing just means that we are paying the barest minimum allowable by our creditors.

And while spending 50% of our current revenue on debt servicing, this administration wants to take further loans of $29.6 billion! To say that this is irresponsible is itself an understatement.

As a businessman, one of the very first things I learnt is that you do not take loans except you are expanding your business. Even as an individual, when your income cannot fund your lifestyle, you are challenged to grow your income, not your borrowings.

Even if this administration borrows $1 trillion, it will never be enough because their challenge is one of capacity. They are not using the funds they already have wisely. They do not need more debt. They need more intellectual capacity.

The money the Muhammadu Buhari administration wants to borrow to fund its Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) could be acquired without sinking the nation into further debt. All it requires is visionary leadership and business acumen.

In my economic blueprint, I said that rather than turn in regular losses (which it has consistently been doing), the best thing to do with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is to reform it. Of course, the administration’s paid propagandists went into overdrive, accusing me of planning to sell the NNPC to my friends. But just last week, Saudi Arabia’s ARAMCO, the most profitable company in the world, took that route and almost broke the global stock market with the most successful initial IPOs in world history, bar none. Ironically, Saudi Aramco raised $29.4 billion via this IPO. Just the amount this administration wants to borrow.

That could have been Nigeria’s story, but for our failure of leadership. By reforming the NNPC, Nigeria can raise the $29.6 billion the Buhari regime wants to borrow, and we will raise the money without going into debt.

If we had taken that route, not only would we have attracted Foreign Direct Investment into Nigeria, but even better than investment, we would have attracted confidence in our economy, because it would have shown that we have a thinking leadership.

Take the example of the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas company. This is a joint venture between the Nigeria government and the private sector. Yet, while the NLNG declares very handsome profits, in billions of dollars every year, the NNPC declares losses! This is proof that the NLNG model works, and the NNPC model does not.

Moody’s, the world’s preeminent rating agency, has just downgraded Nigeria. Ghana, a nation with only 15% of our population, now attracts more Foreign Direct Investment than Nigeria, and Rwanda, a country with less than 15% of our mineral endowment, has an economy that is growing at twice the rate of our economy. The problem is not revenue. The challenge is not Nigerians. The issue is leadership.

While there is scant information in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework for what the loan would be used for, I could not help but read a communication from the Presidency to the effect that one of such projects would be the digitalisation of the Nigerian Television Authority and other similar projects.

Spending revenue on such projects would be foolish, but spending loans in such a manner is nothing short of foolhardy. The Nigerian government does not have a good record of running businesses, and a public television network is unlikely to yield the type of income that would justify taking out loans to digitalise it. Besides, is that a priority, when we have 12 million children out of school? Like I said, capacity, not revenue, is the problem.

And in proof of this, I offer the example of how this administration took delivery of $322 million Abacha loot in 2018 and claimed it shared it out to poor Nigerians, only to obtain a $328 million loan from China, allegedly for ICT development the very next month. How do you share out $322 million and then borrow $328 million? Who does that? At the risk of repeating myself, it is clear that no amount of money, whether from revenue or borrowings, will be enough for an administration that lacks capacity.

So, what must Nigeria do now? Rather than profligate borrowing, what Nigeria needs to do is restore investor confidence in our economy. Key to that is respecting the independence of key institutions, such as the Judiciary and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Both of these institutions are now the captives of Buhari and his cabal, and though they are loathe to admit it, they cannot take one step without watching their backs.

Why are foreign investors leaving Nigeria for Ghana? The answer is that Ghana, unlike Nigeria, has learnt how to divorce key institutions from politics. The Ghanaian central bank enjoys a degree of independence that our own CBN can only dream of under the prevailing atmosphere. You will not hear Ghana’s leaders give flippant interviews overseas about their plans for the cedi, as Buhari has done in Europe about the Naira. It rang alarm bells because it is not the job of the executive to interfere in the role of the reserve bank.

Neither will you find Ghana’s leaders blatantly intimidating the judiciary by obviously setting up judges and invading courtrooms. Why would any investor come to Nigeria under such prevailing circumstances? Their thought would be that if they had industrial disputes, our courts, under this administration, could not be counted on to deliver impartial justice.

I was part of a team that paid off Nigeria’s entire foreign debt. I, therefore, cannot sit and watch an administration without vision squander our children’s future by taking and wasting loans that they do not even have the capacity to utilise properly.

Thank God for leaked memos that have exposed the lies this regime has told Nigerians about unprecedented revenues in the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Now, we know that Nigeria is not poor because she is not making enough money. The truth is that Nigeria is poor because she is not making the right leadership decisions.

Thomas Jefferson said, “to preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.” Dear citizens of our beloved nation, this is a call to heed.

President Olusegun Obasanjo and I paid off this nation’s debt, and I will not stand idly by and watch while Nigeria is plunged into second slavery by those who only know how to reap where they have not sown.

Our youth must have something better to inherit from us than unsustainable debt fuelled by insatiable greed. That is why I call on the Senate of the National Assembly to show loyalty to Nigeria and reconsider its decision with regards to approving Buhari’s $29.6 billion loan request.

We need to pay heed to Benjamin Franklin’s advise that “he that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing”. I call on Nigeria’s youth to identify the Senator representing their senatorial zones and write to them, urging them to vote against this request. Do this, because it is you and your children that will pay back these loans that would be squandered by this ravenous cabal who do not have the word enough in their vocabulary.

Source: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157827746884640&id=14312764639

For how long will the good people of the Niger delta region continue to use their crude oil money to pay all this unwarranted loans.

Meanwhile, their community is polluted with crude oil exploration activities.

As far as I'm concerned, Atiku Abubakar may have his own issues with the people but I believe he has higher tendency of making better economic decision than President Buhari.

True talk