A former Vice Presidential hopeful and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has blamed the economic challenges in Nigeria on the government’s mismanagement of borrowed funds.
In a statement published on his official Twitter account, @PeterObi, on Thursday, the politician and businessman said borrowing for consumption is also a contributing factor, cause the funds were not properly invested.
The issue surrounding borrowing and debt under President Muhammadu Buhari has been a topic of discussion among Nigerians, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stating that for every N100 revenue in 2022, Nigeria will spend N93 on debt servicing.
This was reiterated by Obi, with the former chairman of Fidelity Bank stating, “Today, we are spending 90% of our revenue servicing debts because, ironically, our borrowed funds were mismanaged and have not been properly invested.”
How Nigerian government should have invested borrowed funds
According to Obi, the challenges resulting from the debt was the misplaced of priority, as he believes Nigeria would have developed beyond its current position if, “the funds borrowed were invested in critical areas of development, education, health and poverty alleviation.”
While he doesn’t see any wrong in borrowing, he advised that, “what we need to do is to put a law in place that if we must borrow, it must strictly be for investment in areas of growth.
“Many countries have built robust economies with borrowed funds. We can do the same if only we enthrone visionary and committed leadership.” Obi wrote.
