Debt Accumulation: PDP Backs Salami, Alleges APC, Buhari a Wrecking Govt

*Says borrowed funds being looted by ruling party
*Ndume: Nigeria’s external borrowing worrisome, declares Senate becoming rubber stamp

Chuks Okocha, Deji Elumoye and Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said the comment by the Chairman of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), Dr. Doyin Salami, over Nigeria’s worsening pubic debt position was a confirmation of its earlier allegation that the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) were wrecking the nation.

Similarly, former Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, has described as worrisome and disturbing the increasing rate of external borrowing by federal government, warning that caution must be exercised in taking and approval of loans in the country.

In a statement, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, stated that the “State of the Nation” revelation by Salami that the nation’s debt profile under Buhari had become unsustainable at N35 trillion and growing, with an alarming debt service-to-revenue ratio of 97.7 per cent, further confirmed that the president Buhari and his party have allegedly mortgaged the national patrimony to foreign interests.

According to the PDP. “Salami’s revelation only validates apprehensions that President Buhari, who is still borrowing more money, is completely disconnected from his economic team, while the corrupt cabal in his Presidency has taken advantage of the situation to pillage the vaults.

“It is distressing that despite the already terrifying situation, and with the further depreciation of our naira to N570 to a dollar, President Buhari is moving to take a fresh N2.66 trillion ($4 billion and €710 million) external loan, for very opaque purposes.

“More frightening is the revelation by the EAC that the nation’s debt stock might soon hit N45 trillion”, the PDP added.
The party noted that rather than develop strategies to create wealth to run its affairs and repay the loans it collected, “the incompetent, lethargic and corrupt Buhari administration is only resorting to more loans in a reckless fashion.”
Moreover, the party stated that, “the fact that the APC and its government cannot point to any legacy project financed with the loans validates apprehensions in the public space that the funds are being frittered by APC leaders and cabal in the corridors of power.”

It further noted that its position was corroborated by the report by Salami that the federal government’s expenditure had been, “on the increase and at a faster pace” even when there are no projects on ground to justify such astronomical increase.

Moreover, the main opposition party stated, “that the corruption and incompetence, in addition to policy inconsistency, insecurity and macroeconomic instability, under the Buhari-led APC administration, as also observed by the EAC, had stifled investments and crippled the national economy.”

While commending the EAC for, “their courage in further exposing the failures of the Buhari administration,” the PDP urged the council to impress it on President Buhari to “take urgent steps to recover the over N25 trillion reportedly stolen by APC leaders in various government agencies.”

According to the PDP, “the EAC should task President Buhari to recover the stolen N9.3 trillion as detailed in the reported NNPC memo; the N2 trillion allegedly siphoned under fraudulent subsidy regime and the N1.1 worth of crude oil reportedly stolen using 18 unregistered vessels.”

According to the PDP, in addition to the N500 billon allegedly stolen from Social Investment Programme fund, there was an alleged N1.5 trillion and $9.5 million from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the $65 million (N31 billion) frittered from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), N165 billion stolen from the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) as well as the N90 billion looted from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

It also urged President Buhari to recover the funds stolen from National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as well as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in which a very top official of his government was indicted.

Also, the opposition party stated that the Salami-led EAC team must also summon the courage to tell President Buhari that culprits of corruption in his administration should not only be “eased out,” but made to cough out every kobo stolen and handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.

Ndume Says Senate Almost Becoming Rubber Stamp

Meanwhile, Ndume has accused the Ahmed Lawan-led Ninth Senate of failing to marshal the Senate as a house for debate and deliberation on critical issues already creating wrong perception about the Senate as a rubber stamp.
Ndume spoke to newsmen yesterday, following a new request sent to the Senate by President Buhari on Tuesday for the approval of another tranche of foreign loan.

Buhari had on Tuesday written formally to the Senate seeking the upper legislative chamber’s approval for a fresh foreign loan of $4 billion and €710m to address critical infrastructural projects across the country.
Speaking with journalists on the issue, the Chairman of Senate Committee on Army said though he was not an, “expert in debt analysis, the rate of our borrowing is increasing and is worrisome.”

According to him: “It is not wrong, for example, to borrow money from the bank with some reasonable interest to buy a car, especially when you have a family – wife and children to take to school, and you plan to repay gradually with your salary. It is fine, because you cannot afford the money to buy the car on your own. Borrowing to you, becomes a necessity.
“But, when you borrow and you cannot buy fuel, then you keep borrowing to buy fuel, and you give the car as collateral to collect fuel… I don’t support that.

“It is not the borrowing. And this request for loan that the president sent to the National Assembly is part of the approved external borrowing plan, but as I said. I am just being very careful”.
He advised the Senate to take a critical look at the condition of the loan, its purpose, and if necessary look for an alternative or negotiate the terms, rather than hastily approve it just to remain in the good book of the President, even at the expense of the country.

His words: “Look at what the borrowing is for in the first place, is it necessary? Are the terms good? Borrowing is not a crime but when the rate of debt service increases and I understand it is getting to 80 to 90 per cent, you have to be cautious, you have to look at alternatives.

“There are certain borrowings that are just absolutely necessary, there are some that are not necessary. There are some that can be delayed, there are some that the terms can be negotiated or renegotiated. This is what we should analyse and see if it is necessary. Let us look at the implications and what the money is meant for.

“For example, we have infrastructural deficit in this country and what we hear when people come to Abuja or when allocations are made, you can’t tell what is done with it”.
The ranking Senator said he was not happy with the way the upper chamber under the leadership of Lawan was handling the external loan issue.

His words: “Another thing I am worried about is the way the Senate is handling it. The Senate, by definition, is House of deliberation. When things like this (loan request) comes, you don’t just say, because you want to be good, you approve it. No. You are supposed to look at it critically. Cross the Ts, dot the Is, ask questions, carry the people you are representing along, ask if they agree. Not that we just sit down and just approve it.

“We thought it might be good but the way we do it make the people we represent to look at us suspiciously. There are situations where the time is short and we need to act fast, then we will have to carry the people along. I feel pain when they say “you people again.”

“You call us rubber stamp and all that. But if there are certain things thay can wait, that we need to analyse and not rush… We rushed to approve certain borrowings. Up till now, we didn’t get the money. So why did we rush? These are the questions that comes to my head most of the time”.