A civic-tech organisation, BudgIT, has urged the Federal Government to halt its borrowing spree and debt servicing to revenue ratio.
The organisation expressed concerns over the poor fiscal performance of the government’s 2022 budget and the growing subsidy payments.
BudgIT expressed its concerns in a statement yesterday by its Assistant Head of Media and Communications, Iyanu Fatoba.
It said the fortunes of Nigeria have worsened in the last eight months.
According to BudgIT, the most pressing concern is the debt service-to-revenue ratio, which has reached alarming levels within the first four months of 2022.
It added that the country’s current debt service, which stood at N1.94 trillion from January to April 2022, is over 100 per cent of the nation’s revenue, which was N1.64 trillion, within the same period.
“This is in spite of warnings given by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Nigeria would be spending over 100 per cent of its revenue on debt service in 2026. Unfortunately, those predictions are Nigeria’s current realities,” the statement said.
“Recall that BudgIT, in a consultation memorandum released in February 2022, titled: Leveraging Budget Reforms for Economic Development, had articulated several reform issues bordering on Nigeria’s public financial management regime that affect the very core of governance, separation of powers, expenditure efficiency, and the livelihoods of millions of Nigerians; 83 million of whom live in extreme poverty.
“Four months later, some of those same challenges exist, with additional ones, if not properly managed, may spell fiscal crisis for an already impoverished nation.
“In particular, the debt service spending is only N93.6 billion less than the combined total personnel and capital expenditure for the period under review. Also alarming are the expenditure targets for the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund), which have only been 15 per cent (of the total N5.10 billion naira) for the period under review.
“There is no gainsaying that the fortunes of the most populous black nation on earth, Nigeria, have worsened in the last 8 months after the 2022 budget was passed.”
Also, the 36 governors are expected to meet today with Finance, Budget and Planning Minister Zainab Ahmed; her Agriculture counterpart, Mohammad Abubakar; a team from the World Bank, to be led by its Country Director, Dr. Shubham Chadhuri, and other financial experts on the state of the economy.
A statement yesterday in Abuja by the secretariat of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) said the ministers and World Bank officials would make presentations at the fifth NGF teleconference meeting this year, which will focus on the economy, among other issues.
The statement by NGF spokesman Abdulrazaque Bello Barkindo reads: “Three ministers would address the 36 governors when they converge at Tuesday’s meeting on July 26, as the 36 governors meet virtually in their fifth teleconference meeting for 2022.
“The economy will dominate the meeting as the Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed and the World Bank, led by its Country Director, Dr. Shubham Chadhuri, and other key stakeholders in the economic sector make presentations.”