By the end of the year, Nigeria’s borrowing is going to be in excess of ₦16 trillion – Obaseki

The executive Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki has warned against the rising debt profile of the country, due to the Amount of money borrowed to assist the failing Economy.

Obaseki raised the alarm on Wednesday during a meeting with the Transition Committee members at the Government House in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

The Governor stated how the Government subsidy on petroleum products has helped in raising the debt profile, insisting that the Subsidy should be removed so that the country doesn’t end up like Argentina.

“In another year or so, where will we find this money that we go to Abuja to share every month? Last month, we got FAAC for March. The Federal Government printed an additional ₦50 to ₦60 billion to top-up for us to share,” he said.

“We say remove subsidy, they say no. This April, next week again, we will go to Abuja and share. By the end of this year, the total borrowing is going to be in excess of ₦15 to ₦16 trillion.

“My worry is that we will wake up one day like Argentina, the naira will be ₦1,000, ₦2,000 and will be moving because we don’t have money coming in. You are just borrowing, borrowing and borrowing without any means or idea of how to pay back.”

Obaseki also spoke about the 2023 general elections, noting that politicians whose aim is to buy votes during the polls might find it tough doing so.

He backed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the deployment of technology to track and monitor elections in the country.

“INEC itself had also begun its own process of change. They have been worried, scandalized by what happened in Kogi and Bayelsa, and were trying to redeem themselves.

“So using technology, they made sure that as soon as you finish voting in the polling unit, that result was uploaded straight into a portal so they can see the pattern which makes it difficult to change results at the collation centers.

“That was what helped us. So any candidate or political party that does not see this and expects that we will do business as we used to do before, we are taking a huge risk.”