President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigeria will continue to borrow to fund critical infrastructure need to lift the country towards economic prosperity.
Buhari stated this as he presented a whopping N16.39 trillion budget for 2022 to a joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday.
Also Read: FULL SPEECH: BUHARI PRESENTS PROPOSED 2022 BUDGET OF ₦16.39TRN
Tagged budget of economic recovery and sustainability, what Buhari presents to the National Assembly comes with a budget deficit of N6.26 trillion representing 3.39℅ of the estimated Gross Domestic Product(GDP), and slightly above the 3% threshold by the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.
That notwithstanding, Buhari believes that Nigeria’s borrowing is still within manageable level and that the country is compelled by “necessity” to borrow more to tackle existential security challenges confronting the country.
According to Buhari, financing the budget deficit will mean new borrowings totaling N5.01 trillion, additional N90.73 billion from Privatization proceeds and N1.16trillion drawdowns on loans for specific development projects.
Even though Buhari acknowledged that fears about his borrowing may not be totally out of place, he insists that the borrowings are aimed at specific strategic projects capable of not only repaying the loans but also propel the economy to glory.
To justify his position on borrowings, Buhari reminds citizens instances of how his administration had to spend hugely out of two economic recession and in the process growing public debts.
“It is unlikely that our recovery from each of the two recessions would have grown as fast without the sustained government expenditure funded by debt.”