In spite of this rescheduling and refinancing by creditors who were either members of the Paris Club , London Club or independent creditors, arrears of this debt kept accumulating over time.
Some Nigerians opined at the time, that it was not profitable to pay such huge amounts of Foreign Exchange in one fell swoop just to enjoy debt relief.They argued that the funds could have been used to improve infrastructure and create enabling environment to attract viable foreign investments for economic growth.
The office described it as part of the government’s measures to moderate the rate of growth in the public debt stock in order to ensure debt sustainability. “They are saying; if you are not able to pay, do not stop us from taking back those items that will help us recover our funds. “Unfortunately, we have found ourselves in a difficult scenario due to the COVID-19 pandemic and falling crude oil prices and we just have to go borrowing like most other countries in the world.
Mr Laoye Jaiyeola, Chief Executive Officer of the National Economic Summit Group , said that, though Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio could be considered low, the revenue that went into debt servicing was still on the high side.Jaiyeola opined that expending 25 per cent to 30 per cent of national revenue on debt servicing, as presently done by the Nigerian government, was not sustainable.
Thieves...this government