Due to present N24.3trillion foreign debt profile of the country, an international investment and Business Consultant, Dr Vincent Nwani on Thursday has reitrated the danger against further acquire more foreign debt by Federal government, advising government to take urgent action and fashion out strategies in reducing the debt profile.
Nwani said as an expert, there is nothing bad in borrowing but quickly adding that it should be for developmental projects in such a way that would have positive effects on economic growth and human development.
Nwani who made this disclosure at the FCMB southwest region media parley tagged; ‘Nigeria in 2019: low growth versus risking risks’ said the national GDP which is at 2.5 at the moment is too weak for the country to have any meaningful economic growth and development.
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According to him, Nigerian is felling the effect of the world currency crashes and the global trade growth which is pending at 0.5 percent in the first quarter of the year.
He blamed sleepy economic performance of the country on the challenges of insecurity facing the country, poor policies of the government, and poor tax collection in Nigeria.
According to him, “in 2015, our external debt was N12. 1 trillion but before the end of 2018, it rose to N24.3 trillion. Though, I know it is never a crime to borrow money, but you must know what you are doing with the money you are borrowing.
“Today, no concrete project is going on in the country and we keep borrowing money. Today, our GDP is 2.5 which was above 6.0 few years ago. This is very weak for a country like Nigeria.
“You media practitioners need to challenge government on the new policy on loan for importation of food, especially milk. If you raise money to import without going through the CBN, when you get to port of entry, you will have problems.”
Speaking on the closure of the Nigeria boarders, he said the the move is breach against ECOWAS agreement and bad implication.
He maintained that despite the security challenge USA is facing, it never close its borders, urging Nigeria government to find another means in resolving these challenges rather than closing the border.
While proffer solutions to economic challenges facing the country, Nwani said urgent attention should be focus on power supply and internet provision to the masses.
He noted that government should also take cue in global technology invasion where major transaction is done electronically, warning that Nigerian’s economy is vulnerable to all forms of invasion.
In his welcome address, the Group Head, South-west, FCMB, Mr. Diran Olojo said the workshop was organized by the FCMB as part of its social corporate responsibility for southwest media practitioners for effective business reportage.
Senior Editor,
Lagos Post Online
Email: raji_adebayong@yahoo.com
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