Obi at Chatham House: Labor Party candidate criticizes Buhari government over borrowing culture

• The frontrunner for the presidency, Peter Obi, has revealed that all the money lent by the incumbent government has been a waste.
• The Labor Party standard-bearer said the funds loaned out by the federal government have been mainly for consumption.
• However, he stated that there is nothing wrong with borrowing and that these funds should be channeled towards production.

United Kingdom, London – Peter Obi, the Labor Party’s presidential candidate, has once again questioned the borrowing culture of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Obi, speaking at Chatham House in London on Monday, January 16, said that all the money borrowed by President Buhari’s administration since 2015 has been wasted and funneled into consumption.

In the Q&A session, Peter Obi stated that Nigeria’s debt profile is rising alarmingly from N15trn in 2015 to N75trn today.

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He blamed this on the incessant debt culture of the current administration, claiming that these funds were funneled into consumption rather than production.

Obi said:

“There is nothing wrong with borrowing. Borrowing is legitimate and every government I have studied in the world borrows, even Britain, as we speak, owes 70 per cent of its GDP. All the governments I know of live on loans.”

However, the Labor Party presidential candidate acknowledged that borrowing is a necessity for all countries to prosper, but channeling funds towards developing the economy makes all the difference.

He said:

“Norway, with sovereign wealth of $1.4 trillion, is in debt. The world’s economies, including the world’s largest economy, the United States, owe almost 100 percent of their GDP. The second largest economy, China, owes nearly 70 percent, while Japan owes more than 230 percent of its GDP. But let me tell you the difference.

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“Japan owes 230 percent of its GDP, but it invested the money to save its economy and even with that, Japan is still the largest holder of US Treasuries, so there is something they can appeal. So borrowing is not bad.”

The former Anambra State Governor further vowed that his administration, if elected, stands ready to fill all the loopholes and foster development in Nigeria.

Source: Legit.ng