Ahead of May 29, 2023 inauguration, it has been revealed that Nigeria’s President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will inherit N46.25 trillion debt incurred by past administrations.
The report stated that this excludes the N369 billion loan approval the incumbent government said it had received from the World Bank to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal scheduled for implementation in June 2023.
Reports according to the Debt Management Office (DMO) show that Nigeria’s total debt stock has hit 46 trillion in the eight years of the Buhari administration.
The financial management organization revealed that Nigeria’s debt profile had grown from N12.6 trillion in 2015 to over N46 trillion in 2023.
The situation has continued to raise fiscal worries, especially as the International Monetary Fund, IMF, said Nigeria almost emptied its treasury on debt servicing in 2022.
Recently, the Federal Inland Revenue said it collected N10 trillion in revenue in 2022, with a 2023 budget expenditure of N21.83 trillion pegged on deficits of N11.34 trillion.
The issue of debt sustainability and economic instability currently chokes Nigeria without hope.
On this ground, the onerous task of surmounting the country’s economic challenges would be shouldered by Tinubu after his swearing-in on May 29, 2023.
There are, however, great concerns as economic experts said fixing Nigeria’s debt-burdened economy would be a hard nut to crack.
During an interview earlier, a Professor of Economics at Lagos Business School, Bongo Adi, told reporters that the debt incurred by Buhari’s government had mortgaged the future of the country through heavy obligations.
Adi told Daily Post that in the coming days, it will be difficult for the Nigerian economy because Buhari has left the country broke.
However, he suggested that the only viable option is for the incoming government to seek loan renegotiation, as it is the practice internationally, provided the government has credibility.
“With such a colossal debt burden without apparent means of repayment, the already unsustainable debt profile undermines fiscal sustainability, no matter what the next government will do.
“There is another borrowing spree of $800 million from the Word Bank without how to pay back.
“They are taking advantage of borrowing to share among themself as they want to exit because they know that nobody would hold them to account.
“There is nothing else to talk about; Nigeria is broke. The coming days are not going to be nice at all. Because if you look at the horizon with this kind of debt, we are not bleeding only from the financial side but all ramifications.
“Medical doctors and professionals of all cadres are leaving, so who will create the money to pay back the loans? The factors that drive economic activities are fast depleting.
“So when they go on accumulating loans, they endanger the lives of everybody. Based on the way it is, today’s situation is better than what we will see in the incoming days. They are handing over a dead economy to Tinubu, and I don’t know which magic he would perform.
“The World Bank’s advice has never helped Nigeria or a developing country. There is nothing they would tell you that will work.
“The only thing I can tell you is to renegotiate our debts; however, for anyone to listen, there must be credibility. Now will the incoming government assemble credible individuals?
“The most important thing is to give young Nigerians hope to stay in the country, but then you have to stabilize the economy and security. Every country invests in the youth, but that is not the situation in Nigeria, so who would grow the economy? The priority of the coming government should be how to find creative ways to assure the youths of hope in Nigeria,” he stated.
