Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, has said the Federal Government would not have been able to build rails and other infrastructure in the country, if it had not borrowed money.
Ahmed at a media briefing at the state house in Abuja on Thursday, said this while reacting to criticism regarding high levels of borrowing by the current administration.
The minister said the country’s level of borrowing is not high and unreasonable as it is being reported.
“The level of borrowing is not unreasonable. It is not high. If we say we will not borrow and therefore we will not build rails and major infrastructure until our revenue rises enough, we will regress as a country. We will be left behind. We wouldn’t be able to improve our business environment and our economy will not grow.
“We just need to make sure that when we borrow, we apply the borrowing to specific major infrastructure that would enhance the business environment in this country,” she said.
Nigeria’s total borrowing as of December 31, 2020, is said to be nearly 25 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GPD).
According to Business Day, the minister had in her presentation to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts in November 2020, noted that the country’s total public debt will hit N38 trillion by December 2021.
