Babatunde Fashola, SAN, the Minister of Works and Housing, claimed that Nigeria was not bankrupt. According to a report seen by journalists, the gross oil and gas federation revenue was expected to be N3.12 trillion for the first four months of the year, but as of April 30, only N1.23 trillion was realized, showing a mere 39% performance.
Why this matter
The Honorable Minister, in response to Nigeria’s debt, stated: “To the best of my knowledge, Nigeria is not broke. Being indebted yet still able to pay your bills is not the same as being bankrupt.
“In any case, you need to realize that the loan industry is a lucrative one. Where would all the banks and other financial organizations be if no one took on debt? Where will they dump every employee that they have?
Therefore, credit rating and credit reputation are at stake. We took 12 billion dollars in cash to go and pay off a loan that we could have rescheduled or renegotiated when our infrastructure was failing because of this home economics attitude that says I can’t take on debts. That mentality has to die”
In His Words
“All the big nations we want to compete with are contracting debts to build their infrastructure and stand in competition. As long as you can service your debts, you are good.
“I can conveniently tell you that I am not Nigeria’s minister of Finance; my job is to spend the money not to earn it. I am concerned and every responsible Nigerian should have his eyes on the debts and should be concerned.”