Nigeria: We Are Robbing Our Children To Pay For Our Greed ~Atiku

Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party PDP in the last concluded election Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has expressed shock over Nigeria's increase in debt to GDP ratio and Revenue ratio that tends to ruins Nigeria's economy. 

Atiku through his Twitter handle noted that the revelation from Nigeria's First Quarter 2020 financial reports has given him the greatest shock of his entire life in public service. 

Meanwhile, the financial reports from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning that shows Nigeria's First Quarter 2020 in the Medium Term Expenditure, shown that Nigeria has already spent the sum of N943.12 billion in debt servicing whereas, the federal government's retained revenue for the same period was only N950.56 billion. Leaving Nigeria's current debt at 99%.

No one should be deceived. This is a crisis. Debt servicing does not equal to debt repayments. The reality is that Nigeria is paying only the minimum payment to cover our interest charges. The principle remains untouched and possibly growing ". Atiku said. 

Atiku recalled his opinion editorial of December 17, 2019. Titled "Endless Borrowing to Endless Sorrowing", where he counsel the federal government of Nigeria to desist from indiscriminate lending, and offered suggestions on ways to both increase revenue and reduce expenditure, even though the federal government kept numb about his counselling.

He said, "as part of an administration that paid off Nigeria's entire foreign debt , i am concerned by the alarming and avoidable unprecedented increase in our debt to GDP ratio and debt to Revenue ratio. The alarm i sounded last year is now sounding louder".

Atiku who berated the federal government said "not only have we squandered our opportunities, we hav also squandered the opportunities of our future generations by bequathing them a debt that they neither incurred nor enjoyed".

He however, called on the federal government to "as a matter of urgency and importance take an immediate step to drastically reduce its expenditure, especially on wasteful projects, such as maintenance of presidential air fleet, unnecessary renovation of buildings that could serve as limousine fleet for top government officials, overseas travels and treatments, and the N4.6 billion presidential villa maintenance budget, etc".

He urged the federal government to sell those planes and channel the revenue to other vital areas.

Atiku reiterated that Nigeria is facing a crisis which we cannot continue to keep by taking out more loan "to prop up our economy citing that it amounts not just robbing Peter to pay Paul, but to rubbing our Children to pay our greed.