₦airaland Forum

Just watched the full interview where Ndume knocked Tinubu on lopsided appointments, but I'm surprised no one is talking of where he also slammed the government on irresponsible borrowings.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IR-tphOPhQ?si=mv-Rqs4EvEHI3muZ

For context:
June 2023 - $500 million - "Women programme to scale up NPWPS"
June 2023 - $800 million - "Cushion the effect of high petrol prices after fuel subsidy removal"
September 2023 - $700 million - "Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment"
December 2023 - $750 million - 'Renewable Energy Scale-up."
June 2024 - $1.5 billion - "To Support Nigeria’s Reform for Economic Stabilisation to Enable transformation"
June 2024 - $750 million - "Efforts to stabilise the economy to scale up support to the poor"

$9.45 billion (about N13 trillion) loans in less than 2 years despite Nigeria being in a debt crisis, yet there's not a single tangible project anyone can point out on ground to justify this. Meanwhile some supposedly 'bright' economists claim we're on a 'right economic path!

Every sound person knows there's nothing wrong with borrowing if the borrowing is for productive reasons. However, none of the above-listed items seem to be related to infrastructure or productivity.

Tinubu and his lieutenants currently seem to be on a shopping spree using Nigeria’s credit card. But as sickening as this might be, just watch how some people, many of whom along with their families, haven’t had a decent meal in weeks, will jump in to defend fiscal irresponsibility, purely out of 'the usual' sentiments.

https://businessday.ng/news/article/tinubus-borrowed-for-ambiguous-intangible-projects-without-legislative-approval-ndume-alleges/?amp

Ali Ndume has simply said what every honest Nigerian knows — the bitter truth.

Nigeria’s loans under this administration are nothing but a pipeline for awarding bloated contracts to friends, cronies, and political patrons.

We are now 2 years into Tinubu’s government — and not a single major federal-level revenue-generating project has been commissioned or completed.

Not one.

It’s all borrowing to share, borrowing to spend — but never borrowing to build wealth for the country.

June 2023 - $500 million - "women programmes to scale up"
June 2023 - $800 million - "cushion the effect of high petrol prices after fuel subsidy removal"
September 2023 - $700 million - "The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment"
December 2023 - $750 million - 'Renewable Scale-up." Whatever that means!
June 2024 - $1.5 billion - "Enable Nigeria’s reform for economic transformation"
June 2024 - $750 million - "Efforts to stabilise the economy to scale up support to the poor"

You said nothing when Buhari borrowed more than $30 billion in 8 years with very little on ground to show for it

ObosiLandlord:
You said nothing when Buhari borrowed more than $30 billion in 8 years with very little on ground to show for it

So the best intellectual defense your brain can muster for the current regime's fiscal recklessness is that "BUHARI and his cronies, of which Tinubu and his gang were largely a part, also recklessly plundered Nigeria's economy with irresponsible borrowings and debt"?

So that’s your genius justification? A legacy of economic vandalism is now a blueprint every new regime must follow?

They are all cashless support.

obailala:
So the best intellectual defense your brain can muster for the current regime's fiscal recklessness is that "BUHARI and his cronies, of which Tinubu and his gang were largely a part, also recklessly plundered Nigeria's economy with irresponsible borrowings and debt"?

So that’s your genius justification? A legacy of economic vandalism is now a blueprint every new regime must follow?

If you truly have a common sense, you will know am only calling out a hypocrite who was silent because his children got employed in the CBN and NNPCL under Buhari.

ObosiLandlord:
If you truly have a common sense, you will know am only calling out a hypocrite who was silent because his children got employed in the CBN and NNPCL under Buhari.

Nigeria is currently grappling with a severe debt crisis, thanks to Buhari's reckless borrowing. But in less than 2 (out of a likely 8 ) years, the current regime has pushed us deeper into the abyss, racking up an additional $9.45 billion (~N13 trillion) in loans, while everyone with a voice has remained silent. Now that someone has finally dared to raise a legitimate alarm on how most of these loans are squandered on frivolous and dubious expenses, your best line of response is to focus on the character of the messenger? A matter of national urgency, and you're only concerned with attacking the individual raising the concern. And yet, you think I'm the one lacking in wisdom?

Anyway, "Great minds discuss ideas, small minds discuss people;" so I'm not surprised at your your reaction cos it's very typical of Nigerians. We easily lose focus, veering away from pressing issues to focus on irrelevance - exactly what our plundering political elites want. Nigerians always fall into the same trap, derailing the real conversation with either tribal, religious or other irrelevant small talks. Whether some of you do this deliberately and tactfully to derail the topic or whether you innocently do it out of ignorance, I can't even tell.

Meanwhile, a simple Google search should have cleared your ignorance; the same Ndume was also the only vocal senator against the reckless borrowing under Buhari.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/485230-apc-senator-faults-buharis-borrowing-plan-senates-speedy-approvals.html?tztc=1
https://punchng.com/dont-spend-foreign-loans-on-salaries-overhead-ndume-tells-buhari/
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2021/10/10/bamidele-ndume-disagree-buharis-fresh-borrowing-plans/