PDP Governors Faults APC over Increasing Borrowing
Governors elected on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have expressed worry over the increased borrowing by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to fund projects in the country.
The Governors stated this yesterday at the end of their meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital.
The forum noted that “Money should only be borrowed for productive purposes as Nigeria’s current debt of over N36 trillion is becoming unsustainable relative to our earnings and GDP.
“We should not saddle incoming generations with an undue debt burden. The borrowing spree of the APC administration if unchecked will certainly lead Nigeria into avoidable bankruptcy.”
The governors lamented that the debt profile of Nigeria with over 80 per cent of normal appropriation spent on debt servicing was rising and becoming uncontrollable.
They stated that the ruling party has wiped all the gains the PDP government under former President Olusegun Obasanjo achieved when the nation exited its foreign debt obligations.
It added that the present administration borrows for frivolous items, stressing that such an action was scandalous.
The forum further faulted the operational system and methods of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) adding that it is functioning as an independent government-within-a-government.
“A situation where CBN creates money, decides how much of it to spend, on what to spend it on without any form of controls or supervision is patently subversive of our constitutional order.
“It has become not just a leviathan, but also a Father Christmas of sorts, dabbling into every sphere and scope of governmental activity, not just as a lender of last resort, but as a full executing agency of government,” the communique read.
“The meeting observed that the CBN has become such an octopus that it threatens state governments publicly, without decorum, about sanctions on any attempt to question its Modus Operandi. The CBN should take immediate steps to halt the depreciation of the naira, “It added.
