A frontline presidential aspirant under the platform of the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Peter Obi said he has visited about thirty-one
countries in the world studying the problems bedevilling Nigeria.
He disclosed these on Monday evening during a consultative
meeting with leadership as well as delegates of the party in Akwa Ibom for the
forthcoming PDP convention.
Obi who expressed optimism that Nigeria despite its
worsening economic crisis and deteriorating security system would be redeemed
with strong leadership in place tasked the delegates to consider the future of
their children while voting for their candidates and not to vote out of
sentiment.
“When you are going for the convention for those who will
have the privilege, remember that you will not be delegates forever, but
consider the future of your children and ask yourselves what society I want my
children to live in, he said.
The presidential aspirant said poor countries such as
Bangladesh were able to wriggle themselves out of the quagmire by borrowing and
investing in capital intensive projects and wondered why Nigeria cannot do the
same but only borrow and consume.
He, however, regretted the rising debt profile of Nigeria
noting that though borrowing is not wrong but where the monies are channelled
to, even as he claimed that the Nigerian government borrows without investing
in capital intensive projects saying that only wealth creation can salvage the
situation.
Obi said the country’s debt profile has risen from N3
trillion during former President Obasanjo’s regime to N58 trillion in the
present administration, adding that a situation where Nigeria uses 90% of her earned
revenue to service debt alone indicates a major crisis for the country.
“Nigeria is in debt crisis, when you use 98% of your revenue
to service debt not to repay you are in a major crisis. In the first five
months of last year, we earned one trillion, eight hundred and forty-seven
billion and we used one trillion, eight hundred and two billion to service the
loan, not repayment and we are not putting anything in the reserve. We are just
in a monumental crisis, and we are borrowing more money, they will tell you
that they borrow for capital projects.
“I’ve been going around asking people, to show me the
capital projects. No capital vote is more important than power. We have
borrowed over $100 billion dollars within this period, and we are still at 4000mw.
“This is the only country you hear of power generation,
anywhere you go in the world, you just put power on and off. Vietnam has
doubled their own from 38 to 76000MW, Egypt generates and distributes 55000MW
but Nigeria a giant of Africa is struggling with 4000MW.
”I’ve not seen any country that does not borrow, what they
do differently is when they borrow, they invest it so that people can live well
but our own we borrow and consume and we must end it or it will consume all of
us.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com