₦airaland Forum

…Says Tinubu laying foundation for Nigeria’s industrial base

THE Presidency has defended its borrowing strategy as a necessary tool for economic development, insisting that borrowing, when used judiciously, is not a sin.


The clarification was made during a presidential media interaction held in Lagos, where top presidential aides addressed the media on the administration’s economic performance and future outlook.

Last week, President Bola Tinubu sent a request to the National Assembly seeking approval for additional external and domestic loans totalling N34.15 trillion.

However, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, while responding to questions about Nigeria’s debt profile, said: “It is not a sin to borrow. Even developed nations like the United States of America, USA and the United Kingdom, UK, borrow beyond their GDP. The issue is not borrowing; it is what you do with the borrowed funds.


“We are a poor country with a large population. We must stop deceiving ourselves, Nigeria’s budget is smaller than that of South Africa. We have to be realistic about what we can fund without borrowing.”

He explained that the Bola Tinubu-led administration has made visible gains across macroeconomic reforms and inclusive initiatives, while managing inherited economic constraints.

Speaking on the administration’s economic strides despite initial hurdles, Onanuga said: “We acknowledge that the first year of this administration was turbulent. We faced serious challenges, including inflation, forex instability, and legacy issues that were beyond our immediate control.

“Today, Nigeria’s macroeconomic indicators have improved significantly. This has not gone unnoticed; global institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, IMF, have commended our efforts and direction.

“Nigeria’s All Share Index has more than doubled from 50,000 in 2023 to over 110,000 in 2025.


“The country’s foreign reserves currently stand at $21 billion, up significantly from previous lows. Nigeria’s debt servicing has dropped from 97 percent of government revenue to under 60 percent, freeing up fiscal space for investment in social services.”

Citing PPPs and innovative financing tools such as Infraco, tax credits and matching funds with state governments to finance critical road and housing projects, the Presidency highlighted ongoing interventions aimed at economic inclusion.

He said: “Over 600,000 students have benefited from the student loan scheme under NELFUND, among others.

“We are laying the groundwork for Nigeria’s industrial base through technical education and financial access.”

On steps the adminsitration is taking to cushion hardship and stabilize prices, Onanuga said: “We fully understand that Nigerians are going through tough times. But the government is not sitting idly.


“We have rolled out specific interventions to ease the burden, from bulk procurement of essential drugs under the medical pool initiative to direct agricultural support aimed at stabilizing food prices.

“We have also pushed for the adoption of Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, in transportation. Today, some ride-hailing drivers who used to make N10,000 weekly now earn that daily, just from savings on fuel.

“Also, the President approved a six-month waiver on rice importation. That move was deliberate to crash food prices and break the cycle of hoarding and artificial scarcity.

“We need to be honest with ourselves. Nigeria is not as rich as many people think. We are a large country with limited resources and an exploding population. The truth is, we must recalibrate our expectations and begin to manage our ambitions more realistically.”

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication, Mr Sunday Dare, said: “We can’t build highways from Lagos to Calabar or Sokoto to Bida without borrowing. Projects like these wake up entire regions economically. The real problem is not debt; it is waste. With proper utilization, borrowing is a tool for national transformation.”

Source: https://vanguardngr.com/Debt-burden-No-sin-in-borrowing-Presidency

Toh

Una dey pay back

No sin at all
Borrow, borrow and borrow more.
Let the same zombies shouting tinubu has cleared all our debts revert back to Tinubu needs to borrow more. Empty headed zombies. Especially that brainless "Toh" above
Accountability for the money borrowed: Zero

Leveraging our future and that of our unborn generation. Only those who are very enlightened in the oil and gas sector are seeing clearly how buhari and apc damaged the present and future of this country through borrowing.

As usual.

Put on your seat belt Nigerians, more fat loan loading........ 😁😁😁😅

Oya nau, go borrow and sin no more . These people no get nothing upstairs ooo

This rogue administration always has an excuse for borrowing. God epp us.

Last week Tinubu said debt servicing had drop from 97% to below 40%, now Mr. Onanuga said it has dropped to below 60%. Who do we believe?

Let all politicians and political appointees get paid accordingly as civil servants and see if funds won’t be freed up to build “infrastructure”. Una dey fly new jet up and down dey tell us say you need to borrow to fund “projects”.

Yeah BUT how have we used previous borrowings

Zero Accountability breed Zero Trust!

Really?

LOL

Not when you are borrowing to sqaunder...

With no capital projects to generate funds.

Borrowing above your means with no clear plans on how to pay back!

Culturally we believe borrowing is a bad thing

No sin in borrowing to develop the country. But there is sin in borrowing to spend lavishly on your personal lifestyles. They borrow money to share among themselves. By the time 8 years is over, the mess that will be left behind will be uncleanable forever.

Na so.

Hehehe.

Yes,but there is sin in looting the borrowed funds .

Keep deceiving yourselves. Why can't Nigeria be a lender.?or is it a taboo?

Let it make sense to me, you people just hyped paying back IMF loans, making a fuss about it only to request 34trillion naira. Hmm Nigeria is one hell of a country

Even US is borrowing with all their development and good economy.....

Here we go again on this sacred Monday morning.

Always justifying waste

Okay

Okay now

The sin is not the borrowing itself, but the unnecessary celebration of clearing a certain debt, while the essence remains a continuation of mindless borrowing, plunging the nation, its citizens, and even the unborn into deeper debt.

There's big sin

It's a sin in borrowing without a sincere plan to pay back

Does that mean since two years Nigeria has not been earning any money or what?
What happens to the funds realized from subsidy removal since May 29 2023?
What about the funds our late "Ancestor" sani Abacha has been sending to us all this while?

Borrowing is not bad as they claim but who will finally pay or bear the brunt?

Ok borrow n do something meaningful with the funds, instead it is embezzled!

May God help Nigeria.

Talking about waste no Government has ever been wasteful since the return of democracy as APC.
It's expected that Tinubu and his urban bandits would borrow away Nigerias future.

JASONjnr:
Even US is borrowing with all their development and good economy.....

If Nigeria choose not to borrow like US and the Nig Government lives within it reach and revenue generated without borrowing will the country collapse?